Plessy v Ferguson Reax

 

Plessy v Ferguson was a landmark case in which established the so called “separate but equal” doctrine. This was important because it provided precedent, which I’ve even used in our mock trials, for blacks to be separate as well as, inadvertently as it may be, for them to have worse accommodations.

For background, the Separate Car Act of 1890 was a piece of legislation that made it mandatory for there to be separate railway accommodations for colored and non-colored passengers. Homer Plessy was specifically chosen by his activist group, the Citizens’ Committee, to challenge the law due to his fair skin. The idea was that, since Plessy was so fair skinned, it would show how unnecessary the law was because a lot of people couldn’t tell whether he was white or black. The plan was simple and consisted of four parts. Homer Plessy would intentionally sit in a whites only section of the train. He would then intentionally self-identify as a black man. Plessy would then be arrested and this arrest would be then be used as a basis in challenging the constitutionality of the train car law in court. 

In court, Plessy’s legal team argued that the law violated Plessy’s 13^th and 14^th amendment protections. Specifically, the Equal Protection Clause in the 14^th amendment which states in part, “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” Plessy’s team argued that this specific language meant that states must provide equal protections under the law to all citizens no matter race, gender, or religion.

The Supreme Court ruled in a manner of 7-1 against Plessy. This established the separate but equal doctrine with Justice Henry Billings Brown writing the majority opinion arguing that segregation was constitutional as long as the separate facilities were equal, which we all know to be a fallacy. The decision made racial segregation legal and became the reference of those looking to justify the newly placed “Jim Crow” laws. The lone dissent came from Justice John Marshall Harlan stating, “Our Constitution is color blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens.”