''Separate But Equal'' is a 1991 American two-part television

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format ...

depicting the landmark

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

desegregation Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups, usually referring to races. Desegregation is typically measured by the index of dissimilarity, allowing researchers to determine whether desegregation efforts are having impact o ...

case ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...

'', based on the phrase ''"

Separate but equal Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law, according to which racial segregation did not necessarily violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which nominally guaranteed "equal protec ...

"''. The film stars

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...

as lead

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&n ...

attorney

Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...

Richard Kiley Richard Paul Kiley (March 31, 1922 – March 5, 1999) was an American stage, film and television actor and singer. He is best known for his distinguished theatrical career in which he twice won the Tony Award for Best Actor In A Musical. Kiley ...

as Chief Justice

Earl Warren Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 – July 9, 1974) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The Warren Court presided over a major shift in American constitutio ...

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...

(in his final television role) as lawyer John W. Davis (loser of ''

Briggs v. Elliott ''Briggs v. Elliott'', 342 U.S. 350 (1952), on appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of South Carolina, challenged school segregation in Summerton, South Carolina. It was the first of the five cases combined into ''Brown v. ...

'' and the Democratic candidate in the 1924 US presidential election),

Cleavon Little Cleavon Jake Little (June 1, 1939 – October 22, 1992) was an American stage, film, and television actor. He began his career in the late 1960s on the stage. In 1970, he starred in the Broadway production of '' Purlie'', for which he earned both ...

as lawyer and judge

Robert L. Carter Robert Lee Carter (March 11, 1917 – January 3, 2012) was an American lawyer, civil rights activist and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Personal history and early life ...

, and

Lynne Thigpen Cherlynne Theresa Thigpen (December 22, 1948 – March 12, 2003) was an American actress of stage and screen. She was known for her role as "The Chief" of ACME Crimenet in the game show '' Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?'' and various spi ...

as Ruth Alice Stovall. In 1991, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences rewarded the film Outstanding Miniseries award. The film received 8 nominations for

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

s in 1991 and won 2, and received 2 nominations for

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

in 1992.

Plot

The issue before the United States Supreme Court is whether the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution mandates the individual states to desegregate public schools; that is, whether the nation's "separate but equal" policy heretofore upheld under the law, is unconstitutional. The issue is placed before the Court by ''

'' and its companion case, ''

''. Many of the justices personally believe segregation is morally unacceptable, but have difficulty justifying the idea legally under the 14th Amendment. Marshall and Davis argue their respective cases. Marshall argues the equal protection clause extends far enough to the states to prohibit segregated schools. Davis counters that control of public schools is a "

states' rights In American political discourse, states' rights are political powers held for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the ...

" issue that Congress never intended to be covered by the 14th Amendment when it was passed. Taking the case under advisement, the stalemated justices agree to allow Marshall and Davis an opportunity to reargue their respective cases as to whether the equal protection clause specifically extends to the desegregation of schools. In the interim, Chief Justice

Fred M. Vinson Frederick "Fred" Moore Vinson (January 22, 1890 – September 8, 1953) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 13th chief justice of the United States from 1946 until his death in 1953. Vinson was one of the few Americans to ...

dies and is replaced by a non-jurist, Governor

of California. Meanwhile, Marshall and his staff are fruitless in finding any research showing the Civil-War era crafters of the 14th Amendment in 1866 intended for schools to be desegregated. On the other hand, Davis and his Ivy League-educated staff find several examples of segregated schools having existed ever since the passage of the equal protection clause. Finally, the NAACP staffers discover a quote by

Thaddeus Stevens Thaddeus Stevens (April 4, 1792August 11, 1868) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, one of the leaders of the Radical Republican faction of the Republican Party during the 1860s. A fierce opponent of sla ...

delivered on the floor of the Senate during the debate over the Amendment, which directly states segregation is constitutionally and morally wrong. They place it at the front of their brief. Marshall's argument is compelling. As the case is taken under advisement a second time, new Chief Justice Warren is taken on a tour of Gettysburg by his black chauffeur. He also realizes that his chauffeur must sleep in the car because there are no lodging places available for him because of his race. Warren discovers a majority of the Court agrees to strike down the "separate but equal" laws; however, it is important to him that the Court be unanimous. He writes an opinion and takes copies to all of the dissenting justices trying to convince each one of the significance of unanimity. They finally all agree. Warren reads his opinion which states that segregation "has no place" in American society. Even opposing counsel, John W. Davis, privately agrees it is time for society to change. The epilogue acknowledges Thurgood Marshall's own ascent to the Supreme Court in 1967 and explains that the plaintiff in the companion case, a black student named Briggs, never attended an integrated school.

Cast

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1990s American television miniseries American biographical series Civil rights movement in television American courtroom films Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries winners Primetime Emmy Award-winning television series 1991 television films 1991 films Television courtroom dramas 1990s American films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links