In the case of Goss et al. v. Board of Education of Knoxville, Tennessee, 1962, African American students filed a lawsuit against the school board for not integrating schools quickly enough after the landmark Brown v. Board decision in 1954 that declared segregation unconstitutional. The plaintiffs argued that despite this ruling, they were still attending segregated schools and demanded immediate integration rather than gradual desegregation as proposed by the defendants' "stair-step" plan which would integrate one grade per year starting with first grade. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs stating that while it was important to consider local conditions when implementing desegregation plans, these considerations should not delay or obstruct compliance with constitutional rights to equal protection under law. The court held that delaying integration perpetuated racial discrimination and violated students' Fourteenth Amendment rights.

The dissenting opinion in the Goss v. Board of Education case argued that the majority's decision to strike down a Tennessee statute requiring racial segregation in public schools was an overreach of judicial power. The dissenters believed that this issue should be left to state and local authorities, not decided by federal courts. They also expressed concern about potential social unrest resulting from forced desegregation, arguing that it could lead to violence and further division between races. Furthermore, they disagreed with the majority's interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment as mandating racial integration in schools, asserting instead that it only prohibited unjust discrimination based on race.