Courts or Legislation?

Historically, the courts have had the most impact on desegregation.  Although Congress passed the 14th Amendment, it was the Court's job to enforce this legislation and to interpret the words expressed in the Amendment if they should come up in trial. In Plessy v. Ferguson, the courts upheld a Louisiana statute that required segregation, saying that the "equal protection of the laws" stated in the 14th Amendment was not violated as long as the facilities were separate but equal.  So, the Court interpreted the Amendment in one way...later it would change its opinion.  In Brown v. Board of Education, the Court ruled that "separate education facilities are inherently equal"- completely contradicting what it had ruled almost 60 years earlier in Plessy.  Congress could present and pass legislation, but the Court had the power to interpret that legislation whatever way they seemed fit. 

I don't think that it was the Court's fault for the backlash that occurred, especially in the Southern states, after Brown v. Board of Education.  The Court has the power to rule what it thinks fit for the whole country, and it is the states' responsibility to follow the rules set forth by the Court/Federal government.  The states can throw a hissy fit and say what they want, but, ultimately, they have to do what the Court and federal government tell them to do.  Further, I don't think that it would have mattered if federal legislation had been passed concerning desegregation.  The states(especially in the South) were not going to be happy with whatever ruling came about from desegregation.  If there was desegregation- it could have come from the President, Congress, or the Court- the states were going to be upset and there was almost certainly going to be violence.