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Plessy V. Ferguson Case Analysis

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Color-blind justice is a concept that we in the United States see as a staple of our free, equal, and democratic nation. We believe that the values of liberty and equality have worked to develop a current reality that paints everyone with a single brush rather than separate groups. In many ways, this can be considered true in the progress we have made in civil rights and social responsibilities. However, it may be idealistic and naïve to believe that we have simply left behind the history that has built this nation. Institutionalized racism is an unfortunate but tangible issue in today’s world, but nowhere do we see it stand out as prominently as we do in our justice system. Events in recent years have called attention to the growing incidents …show more content…

Ferguson was a landmark Supreme Court case in 1896 regarding Jim Crow railroad cars in Louisiana. The Court decided by 7 to 1 that legislation could not overcome racial attitudes, and validated the South's segregationist social order. They ruled that "separate but equal" facilities were constitutional under the "equal protection" clause in the Fourteenth Amendment while in reality the quality of African American life was grotesquely unequal to that of whites. Intended for the law community the legal analysis of the Plessy v. Ferguson case (seen under circumstances of determining constitutionality) did its job in contributing the legitimate context under which the case was tried and judged. The Legal Information Institute of the Cornell University of Law provided this analysis of the Plessy v. Ferguson case with objectivity and forthrightness, simply recounting the case in a legal procedural fashion with tight diction. The analysis the institute offered was supported by direct primary source material used in the case. Plessy v. Ferguson was a seminal case for which Tourgée acted as Homer Plessy’s attorney, defending the Citizens Committee and Civil Rights and advocating that, "…citizenship is national and knows no color”. His argument was that “separate but equal” laws could not be equated to slavery, but ultimately lead to it. ." This was Tourgée’s last significant fight in the civil rights arena as he lost the case leading to the legalization of …show more content…

It showed a sharp focus on the events in Ferguson less than two years ago. Darren Wilson, a white Ferguson police officer, shot the unarmed Michael Brown from a distance, but it was unclear whether Brown was surrendering or threatening Wilson. The unclear circumstances of Brown's death, the resulting nationwide protests, and police forces' perceived overreaction to the protests all led to a serious national debate about law enforcement's treatment of African-Americans in the United States. Such recent occasions of police brutality have brought the question of race into the picture as the public and media continue to evaluate the situation our country has found itself in, allowing this particular article to fulfill its purpose in fueling a discussion on race relations and the “colorblind” law. The Washington Post’s Christopher Ingraham, whose works center on politics, drug policy and data analysis, offers a candid and inquisitive tone in an article arranged in a sequence of data, statistics and information on the subject matter. The author’s use of straightforward language and extensive support from credible race-centered research and sources make the article instructive and indicative of the current status of race. In the novel, Mark Elliott held that, “...white skin is the greatest blessing that has been enjoyed on American soil.” This statement may ring true to some in

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