Analyzing "Detrimental Psychological Harm": Social Science Evidence and Segregation in the Supreme Court Post-1950

Sarah Mckenna

From 1950-2007, broadly-defined, malleable social science evidence presented in school desegregation cases in the Supreme Court impacted the Court's opinions. In McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents (1950) and Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Court sided with evidence that showed the psychological harms of segregation. But with new emphasis on educational benefits of integration in Parents Involved in Community Schools v. Seattle School District (2007), the Court seemed less persuaded by social science evidence.

Major: 
History and Political Science
Exhibition Category: 
Arts and Humanities (including Visual Arts)
Exhibition Format: 
Poster Presentation
Campus: 
University Park
Faculty Sponsor: 
Michael Milligan
Location: 
Alumni Hall, HUB-Robeson Center
Poster Number: 
129

Award Winner

Arts and Humanities (including Visual Arts) - First Place