“With All Deliberate Speed” is a documentary about the events leading up to the 1954 Brown v. Board U.S. Supreme Court decision which concerned the issue of separate but equal public educational facilities for different races in the United States. The documentary title comes from part of the unanimous written opinion of the court penned by chief justice Earl Warren in which the court found the 1896 precedent of separate but equal set by Plessy unconstitutional and ordered schools to integrate. The lack of progress prompted the Warren court to issue a follow-up decision a year later known as Brown II which ordered integration be conducted “with all deliberate speed.” This phrase serves as a point of debate still today as to whether the court’s phrasing was actually harmful or if the court’s word choice was a realistic consideration of how difficult integration would be. The documentary focuses on a case for overturning separate but equal that came out of Prince Edward County, Virginia, which eventually became one of the five cases that made up the Brown v. Board Supreme Court case. In addition to enlightening the viewer about the details of how this landmark case came to be, the film explores two other key themes: the importance of individuals taking action in history and the importance and power of the judicial branch in our history.
Though the film is presented as an examination of the rather big picture idea of the beginning of the end racial segregation in America, a critical eye will note that the story of how this unfolds is really a conglomeration of many smaller stories about individual actors. The historical importance of individual actors comes as no surprise to any student of history, but the documentary’s focus on the individuals involved in the Prince Edward County case and the Brown Supreme Court case conveys a message to the viewer that, when it comes to the stage of history, there are no bit roles. In particular, the film focuses in on the sixteen year-old Barbara Johns who played a key role in making the Prince Edward County case happen; the long-term planning and legal genius of Charles Hamilton Houston that led to the creation of a sort of equal rights legal dream team that included Thurgood Marshall; and the fortuitous arrival on the court and consensus building abilities of Earl Warren, the chief justice who oversaw the arguments in Brown v. Board. There are many others whose opinions and storytelling are shared throughout the documentary. The combined effect of these individual stories seeks to stir within the viewer a desire to stand up against injustice in fulfillment of Margaret Mead’s famous quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” This inspiration, however, is tempered by the stories of the individuals whose comments frequently relate the reality of how arduous and eminently frustrating any attempt to challenge established social norms can be.
A final lesson from the film appears at first to be a relatively simple one which is that the judicial branch of our governing structure holds an incredible amount of power; this fact that is often unrealized (or at the very least, not completely understood) by the American public and is, perhaps, incredibly important to be mindful of considering the current makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court and the current tone of the national political landscape. “With All Deliberate Speed” offers a tutorial about how powerful the Supreme Court is while also, at the same time, how extremely limited it’s powers are. Despite a unanimous decision in which the court said that when it comes to schools, “...the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place,” the realization of the court’s monumental ruling would take decades; some might even argue it has yet to be realized today. The lack of progress to integrate schools actually prompted the court to issue the Brown II decision, in which the court used more forceful language to seek compliance with their original decision. Though marked by frustration and difficulty, the story of “With All Deliberate Speed” should serve as inspiration and a sobering reality check to all those who fight against injustice everywhere.
