Separate but equal discussion board
Not all the topics in the discussion need to be discussed. Please make the paper the 275 words.
ANSWER
Separate but Equal
Plessy v. Ferguson is commonly referred to as the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine that was passes on 18th May 1896 in a seven to one majority in the United States Supreme Court. The case arose from a man Homer Plessy in 1892 who was mixed race, both white and black. However he was barely African American with only one-eight of his descent being black. During his travels, Plessy bought a train ticket within Louisiana and instead of boarding an African American carrier car, chose to seat in car reserved for white passengers. Plessy was arrested and charged with violation of the Separate Car Act in Louisiana law. The case became the first ever inquiry on the Fourteenth Amendment equal-protection clause. Justice Henry Billings Brown who served in the case indicated that “even though the Fourteenth Amendment intended to establish absolute equality for the races separate treatment did not imply the inferiority of African Americans” ().
Even though it was not explicitly stated in ‘separate but equal’ terms. The ruling noted that there was no meaningful difference between cars meant for white people and those meant for black people. Thus, begun the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine that gave the law mandate to sanction constitutional laws towards the achievement of racial segregation. The law carried on along until 1954 when it was overruled in Brown v. Board of Education by the United States Supreme Court. However Plessy v. Ferguson was not the redemption African Americans had expected. Aggression by white Americans followed which even pushed its premise to murder, assassinations and homicide from both sides. Additionally, separate but not equal did not hold as African American public resources were neglected while white people resources received maintenance and upgrades. The clause eventually lead to civil rights movement that brought segregation to an end.
Reference
Cornell Law. Legal Information Institute: Separate But Equal – Plessy v. Ferguson. Retrieved on 4th December 2020 from https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/separate_but_equal#
