Plessy V. Ferguson Case Study

The case of Plessy v. Ferguson is an African-American man buying a first class train ticket in Louisiana and being told to go to the black section of the train. However, the man, Homer Plessy refused to go to the black section and was forcefully arrested for going against the Separate Car Act of 1890. The Separate Car Act allowed for African-Americans to be segregated on trains and the punishment for wrongdoing was a $25 dollar fine and up to twenty days in jail. Homer Plessy went against the act of the Louisiana legislature and was sent to a trial. The trial of Plessy v. Ferguson would either “stem the tide of racial separatism or drive a nail in the coffin of racial equality and reconciliation. (Chamber)” To reiterate, the Supreme Court case …show more content…
The separate but equal doctrine from the Plessy v. Ferguson case creates discrimination because people are allowed to segregate as long as the same facilities are accessible to the ones being discriminated. “This ‘separate but equal’ doctrine became the cornerstone of racial segregation in the United States. (Woodbridge)” The separate but equal doctrine made discrimination possible by making it legal as long as there are equal facilities. However, the equal was not equal in quality; in many segregated schools, the African-American school were not as privileged as the white school. Individuals in the South used the separate but equal doctrine to separate African-Americans and make their race more superior. “Separation of the two races stamps the colored race with a badge of inferiority. (Baker)” In every criminal case involving the Separate Car Act, all of the arrests were for African-Americans in the white section of the train, but there is no arrest for white people in the black section of the train. Therefore, demonstrates the racial superiority between blacks and whites creating discrimination. Because of the Civil Rights Act in 1875, both African-Americans and whites are created equal. If

Show More