Plessy Vs Ferguson

A law in Louisiana in 1890 read that railroads had to provide "separate but equal" accommodations for white and colored people. A man named Homer Plessy decided to test this law. Plessy was 1/8th black and tried to sit in the white section of the train on a trip from New Orleans to Covington. Plessy was ordered to move but he refused and was arrested and put in jail by a local judge named Ferguson. Plessy took the case to the Supreme Court claiming that it was a violation of the 13th Amendment. The court ruled that segregation laws were widely recognized and had to be enforced. This was the wrong decision in my opinion. This court case set the stage for segregation across the United States and wouldn't be overturned for another 60 years. The fact that people were ok with segregation is appalling, and I really think the Supreme Court got it wrong here, even if it was over 100 years ago.


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