The Role of Social Scientists 25 Years after Brown

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Abstract
The Appendix to the Appellant's Brief (known as the Social Science Brief) submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court for its consideration in Brown vs. Board of Education was prepared by three social scientists and endorsed by thirty-two other researchers in the field of American race relations. The brief summarized studies treating social and psychological aspects of segregation and was cited by the Court in its ruling that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." The Brown decision ushered in intense legislative and judicial action and positive involvemnt of social scientists. When the center of gravity of the civil rights movernnt shifted to Northern urban centers, however, more subtle, sophisticated methods were used to limit desegregation through the exercise of political power. Scme well-publicized social scientists, perhaps identifying with those sources of power, used their expertise to support neo-conservative and "practical" impedimnts to the progress of racial justice.

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