History Minute (098): Plessy v. Ferguson establishes "separate but equal"

In 1892, Louisiana enacted the “Separate Car Act” — a law that required rail services to provide separate cars for Black people and White People. At least one railroad thought this was a needless expense for them, and they supported a “Committee of Citizens” that wanted the Act repealed. The Committee of Citizens identified a man who was 1/8 Black, named Plessy, and had him sit in the car designated for White people. He refused to move to the Black car, and was arrested.

At trial, Plessy’s attorneys argued that Judge Ferguson should dismiss the charges because the Act was unconstitutional under the 13^th and 14^th Amendments. Ferguson did not do so.

When the case made it to the United States Supreme Court, the justices ruled 7 to 1 against Plessy, reasoning that the Amendments called for equal legal treatment regardless of race, but that they did not require the elimination of distinctions based upon color. They also disagreed with Plessy’s lawyers that the Louisiana law implied Blacks were inferior.

This ruling established the practice of “separate but equal” — which prevailed for fifty years — and legitimized Jim Crow laws enforcing racial segregation in the South.

Only one justice dissented — John Harlan. He found that the law should not create a caste system, and that upholding the law would perpetuate discrimination. 

Read More:

• https://www.oyez.org/cases/1850-1900/163us537
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plessy_v._Ferguson