The Civil-Rights Showdown Nobody Remembers

When the Supreme Court handed down its decision in Brown v. Board of Education, on May 17, 1954, it was big news. The Times gave the story banner headlines and ten pages of coverage. The case had been before the Justices since 1952, and it was common knowledge that a decision had been in the works. Many people probably anticipated the outcome, although maybe not that the opinion would be unanimous. Everyone, though, had the same question: Now what? 

There is a reason for all the Hogwarts-like trappings that surround the Supreme Court—the super-secret conferences, the ban on cameras, the fact that the Justices read their opinions from a dais, that they never hold press conferences, that they wear black robes. All this gravitas masks the reality that the Court’s powers are largely paper powers. When the Court issues an opinion, it is basically waving a wand in the hope that something will happen. As Alexander Hamilton put it, the Court “has no influence over either the sword or the purse.” The sword belongs to the executive branch, as does the Department of Justice, and unless an Administration is prepared to enforce the Court’s decisions the Court is almost powerless to see that they are carried out.