Introduction
Kelly (n.d.) wrote that this U.S. Supreme Court case in 1896 followed on from earlier cases in the Louisiana courts in 1892, which were the consequences of Homer Plessy (a light-skinned African American) seating himself in a Louisiana train railroad car designated as “whites only”, then refusing to leave, for which he was arrested. That landmark Supreme Court case verdict had a huge impact on African Americans, as described in the following paragraphs.
The Case and its Impacts
The Majlessi Law Firm’s article (n.d.) entitled “Historic Trial – Plessy V. Ferguson” states that Plessy’s attempt to travel on an East Louisiana train in a “whites-only” car – for which he was arrested and put in jail – was on June 7, 1892. Plessy himself filed a case in the Louisiana court, in which he argued that Louisiana was not observing the Constitutional 13th and 14th Amendments. The Judge – John H. Ferguson – ruled against Plessy, on the basis that the Louisiana rail companies had to observe Louisiana rules and regulations. Plessy supporters took the case to the Louisiana Supreme Court, where Ferguson’s verdict was upheld. The same Plessy supporters pressed on and took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, where the outcome was the same. The Majlessi article mentions one influential voice supporting Plessy; that of Judge John Marshall Harlan, who supported racial equality and opposed those racially-slanted decisions, stating that “the Constitution is color-blind, and all citizens should be equal before the law.”
Cozzens (1995) states that the Plessy decision set a precedent which was interpreted as meaning that having or providing separate facilities for black and white citizens was considered constitutionally correct, so long as those facilities were “equal”. That philosophy of “separate but equal” facilities was very soon extended to almost every area of public life, including public schools, all transportation, restaurants, theatres and even public toilets. Cozzens notes that this “separate but equal doctrine” endured until the year 1954 when the case of Brown v. Board of Education brought it to an end, beginning a new era of much increased racial equality.
McBride (2006) sees that Supreme Court verdict as giving a “constitutional nod” to widespread public racial segregation. Although facilities were supposed to be “separate but equal” for blacks and whites, McBride notes that the facilities provided for blacks were far from equal and thus contributed to what his article refers to as “a kind of racial caste society.”
Robinson Henry (1998) describes the effects of the case as effectively preventing African Americans from enjoying equal opportunities and access to higher education – privileges “that other Americans take for granted.” The article also comments that the Plessy verdict provided U.S. states with the means to operate their education systems in a skewed way that “blatantly discriminated against African Americans” denying them the same opportunities the whites had.
Conclusions
The findings of those Louisiana courts against Homer Plessy, subsequently endorsed by the U.S. Supreme Court, paved the way for over 50 years of nationwide policies of racial discrimination against (mainly) African Americans. Until the ruling in the case of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, America existed as two separate societies, in which the nation’s black people were treated as second class citizens, effectively denied equal opportunities in education, employment, leisure pursuits, travel, and just about every aspect of everyday life.
Works Cited
Cozzens, Lisa. “Plessy v. Ferguson.” (1995, updated1999). After the Civil War. Web. 19 October 2012.
“Historic Trial – Plessy V. Ferguson.” (n.d.). Majlessi Law Firm. Web. 20 October 2012.
Kelly, Martin. “Plessy v. Ferguson.” (n.d.). About.com: Education: American History. Web. 19 October 2012.
McBride, Alex. “Plessy v. Ferguson (1896).” (Dec 2006). Web. 20 October 2012.
Robinson Henry, Dr. A’Lelia. (Jan 1998). “Perpetuating Inequality: Plessy v. Ferguson and the Dilemma of Black Access to Public and Higher Education.” Jefferson Law Book Company, Division of Anderson Publishing Co. Journal of Law & Education. Web. 20 October 2012.
