may 18, 1896 - Plessy v. Fergu
Description:
Supreme Court upheld segregation laws in public places and businesses as long as facilitates were equal. Louisiana enacted the Separate Car Act, which required separate railway cars for blacks and whites. In 1892, Homer Plessy, who was technically black under Louisiana law, sat in a "whites only" car of a Louisiana train. Plessy was told to vacate the whites-only car, he was refused and arrested. At trial, Plessy’s lawyers argued that the Separate Car Act violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. The judge found that Louisiana could enforce this law insofar as it affected railroads within its boundaries. The Court held that the state law was constitutional. “Separate but Equal” doctrine established. Facilitates were never really equal - black facilitates were always inadequate.
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Processing of Civil Right Act
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