Student 1:

Read the text and answer the questions.

Brown as the beginning 

The landmark Supreme Court decision that declared public school segregation unconstitutional and led to wider civil rights victories in the 1960s.

Brown v. Board of Education (1954) is the case that outlawed school segregation and largely overturned Plessy v. Ferguson's (1896) "separate but equal" precedent. In this case, the Court found that school segregation was unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Claude of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution. The decision was the turning point in the country's struggle for equal protection under the law for all of its citizens with particular application to education. It also gave encouragement to the Civil Rights Movement. Brown's impact on segregation, however, was neither immediate in 1954 nor has it ended segregation. In some ways, the struggle continues today. [...]

In September 1957, the Little Rock Nine students endured a week of unsuccessful attempts to to class at Central High School. First, the Arkansas Governor ordered the National Guard to block their entrance. Then, mobs made it unsafe to attend at all. [...] In an unprecedented move, [President] Eisenhower authorised the deployment of federal troops to Little Rock on September 23, 1957. The National Guard accompanied the students into Central High on Wednesday, a week and a half after the first day of school, and more than three years after Brown. [...] In March of 1956, 101 members of Congress (both the Senate and the House of Representatives) signed the Southern Manifesto, which declared their opposition to Brown and their desire to have it reversed. [...]

Brown was the first of several cases decided under Chief Justice Warren that became landmarks in protecting individual rights and freedoms. Loving v. Virginia (1967) declared laws prohibiting interracial marriage unconstitutional. Mapp v. Ohio (1961), Gideon v. Wainwright (1963), and Miranda v. Arizona (1966) protected the rights of the accused. [...] These cases, along with Brown, all followed a trend of recognising and protecting individual and civil rights. [...] Despite the case's difficulties and shortcomings, Brown v. Board of Education was a momentous decision that marked the beginning of an era of Civil Rights advocacy. 

Supreme Court Historical Society's CIVICS website, 2003

1. Spot the capitalised names and explain who or what they refer to.
2. Identify all the dates to create a timeline of the events of this era.
3. Pick out words or phrases that refer to “inclusion” or “rejection”.
4. What is the text about?
5. Focus on people’s reaction to Brown: what does this reveal about the country at the time?
6. In light of the text, reinterpret the title and subheading: what came after Brown?
7. Explain the situation for American citizens before and after each landmark decisions mentioned.

CULTURE SNAP

After the abolition of slavery in 1865, some states introduced Jim Crow laws, that enforced segregation, separating black and white people in public facilities such as schools.

Student 2:

Read the text and answer the questions.

"You have to say the magic words." What the Supreme Court ruling on Miranda rights means for you

The magic words beginning the Miranda warning that many know by heart - "you have the right to remain silent" - may be enshrined in Hollywood shows and films, but Thursday's Supreme Court decision means its civil rights protections will be significantly reduced, legal experts told USA TODAY. The 6-3 decision, with the court's three liberal judges dissenting, in Vega v. Tekoh, essentially concluded that failing to "Mirandize" or give someone their Miranda warning, does not allow a person to sue law enforcement for a federal civil rights violation of the Fifth Amendement's protection against compelled self-incrimination. [...]

"The courts are not generous in how they interpret people interpreting their rights. You have to say the magic words," Emily Galvin-Almanza, co-founder of Partners for Justice said. "This decision is really damaging because it says the courts don't have to tell you what the magic words are. You better come in knowing your rights." [...] "Being able to sue for damages was a critical way of ensuring that law enforcement officers would always be incentivised to provide the warning," [Steve Vladeck, a constitutional law expert said].

Those suspects largely tend to be people of colour who are lower income. But it will also outsized impacts on juveniles - whose brains are still maturing - the mentally ill and developmentally disabled [said Galvin-Almanza]. Many studies detailing police interrogation tactics, which include lying to suspects, show they can lead people to falsely confess to crimes. 

USA Today, 2022

1. Read the first sentence and spot the “magic words”.
2. Focus on the quotes mentioning these magic words: what do they protect?
3. Spot the people mentioned: why do they need to be protected by the Fifth Amendment?
4. What is the text about?
5. Look for words related to the Supreme Court: what is the link with these magic words?
6. Identify words related to discrimination: how do these decisions impact minorities?
7. Spot the adjectives: analyse the author’s opinion about these changes
8. Explain how SCOTUS decisions are pivotal for minorities in US society.