Plessy Vs Ferguson

In order to show how the “separate but equal” doctrine came to be, as a class we created a mock trial of the Plessy v. Ferguson case. The idea of separate but equal allowed states to segregate black and white people through public services and accommodations for over 60 years. Despite this idea of equality in the doctrine, many people took advantage of it, as it gave both black and white people an influence on whether they were inferior or superior.

The Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson is known for having established the precedent of “separate but equal.” The case originated in Louisiana and was specifically made to the separate passenger cars that were for the black and white races. The Supreme Court, in this case, upheld the right of Louisiana to separate the races and “this decision provided the legal foundation to justify many other actions by state and local governments to socially separate blacks and whites” (Zimmerman, 1997). It was not until the famous Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954 that the highest court in the land outlawed the principal of segregation and the concept of “separate but equal.”

In 1951 schools were separated by skin color, or segregated. The Brown v. Board of Education trial was brought to court because a third-grader, Linda Brown, was not allowed to attend the elementary school that was closest to her house. She wa required to take the bus to school across town instead. In the trial the point that “Education for Negroes is almost nonexistent(13).” This is an example of how there were old problems in the Fourteenth Amendment that needed to be changed. Another issue that was brought up in the trial was that, “Segregation… has a tendency to retard the educational and mental development of negro children…(19).” Without the proper education at segregated

Board of Education" text a little girl, Linda Brown, has been trying to get into a school closer to her home. But because she was African American, and the laws of segregation in schools, she had to go to a school for non white students 21 blocks away from her house. Although she was getting to attend a school, her parents sued the school for white students because the school board would not let an African American student attend the school. The main question assigned to the Supreme Court was asked, "Does the segregation of children in public school solely on the basis of race, even though the physical facilities and other 'tangible' factors may be equal, deprive the children of equal educational opportunities." In addition to this question, it practically states that the Court was being questioned to determine whether or not the law of segregation in schools were a constitutional agreement. The lawyers for Linda and her family argued that the segregation law implied that African American children were "inherently inferior to whites." This states that they asked the Court to end segregation and let black and white children to attend school together. This integrated schools across

When the US Supreme Court decision of Plessy v. Ferguson was enacted, schools were “separate but equal” (Moody, 2016). The Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954 abolished the “separate but equal” doctrine but segregation and inequality remained in many schools as a result of legislation and policies that does not favor Black children (Moody, 2016). In I Am Not Your Negro, in the scene of the experiences of the Little Rock Nine racial conflict, the suppression of people of color, and white supremacy are shown. The nine students were poorly treated and dehumanized. Despite people’s effort to keep them out of school; they were sent in with troops to protect them.

A chiefly odious ruling was written in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. Argued before the Court in 1896 and ultimately overruled by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, the Court, heard the case of a man named Plessy. One-eighths black, Plessy boarded a white-only car only which resulted in his arrest and jailing for violating of discriminatory segregationist statutes. The Court, under Justice Henry Billings Brown’s majority opinion, affirmed these segregationist policies establishing the infamous ‘separate but equal’ doctrine. As history would prove, the accommodations made for nonwhite Americans in many cases failed to even approach the threshold of equal. Plessy v. Ferguson stands in direct conflict with the promise of “equal justice under law”. With such a narrow interpretation of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments, which in part provided for equal protection under law, the Court yielded great deference to a harsh sociopolitical environment, ultimately sanctioning the segregation that would defile the American dream for many years, until Brown v. Board. The only dissenter in this case, Chief Justice John Harlan’s now-canonic phrase “our Constitution is color-blind,” (Hutchison, 427) reminds us that, contrary to the idea of the majority in this

Plessy versus Ferguson required all facilities, including schools, to be separate but equal. Fifty-eight years later in Brown versus the Board of Education, the ruling called for “education...to be made available to all on equal terms” (Bickel 458). Since then, the US has declared itself racially integrated. However, looking at the various educational institutions across the country, this is not the case in the majority of the locations. In turn, this has created poorer academic standards among minorities, the majority of which live in these racially segregated and underserved areas. This is an issue which requires immediate action and attention. By increasing funding in underserved and minority schools, we can increase the amount of resources and allow schools to have the latest technological equipment. In addition to that, integration is important because “unless children begin to learn together, there is little hope that our people will live together” (Ryan 123). By increasing funding and integration through housing and busing, we can combat the poor performances of minorities.

Equality didn’t come to African Americans right after the Civil War. It took over a hundred years to get that. Even though slaves were now free, after the Emancipation Proclamation, there still was segregation and inequality. Jim Crow Laws segregated the country by not letting African Americans, sit, eat and drink from the same things as White people. Things that slowed down the equal rights movement are the debate on whether African American had the right to vote, the debate on whether African Americans may have the right to sit in the front of the bus, and much more. Another one is whether African American kids have the right to go to the same school as White kids, which is what the topic I chose to talk about today is about. The Brown v.s the Board of Education is about a little girl who was brave enough to go into a school for white children and attempt to get an education. This brought up a lot of controversy about whether children of any race should go to school together or not. Obviously is was successful because today children of both races go to school in harmony. Now let’s learn a bit more about this case and why it’s important.

In early civil rights arguments, the U.S. Supreme Court heard the 1896 case of Plessy v. Ferguson. Plessy was only 1/8th black and arrested for sitting in the “White” car of the East Louisiana Railroad. The decision was six to one upholding the Separate Car Act. The Plessy decision was the deciding factor that as long as the amenities were equal for blacks and whites, “separate but equal” was constitutional (Cozzens, 1999).

The Plessy v Ferguson case impacted the plight of African Americans because the Congress reinforced legislation. As well, the rights he had were being violated and did not conflict the case with the 13th and 14th amendments. This case was filed as segregation ‘separate but equal’ document. As the Supreme Court made discrimination legal, African Americans decided to fight for their rights. ‘’The Supreme Court ruling did not fully eliminate segregation but it was an attempt to give blacks rights. After the Supreme Court case made discrimination legal, African Americans started to fight for their rights, such as integrating schools’’ (Pamphile, S, N/d). The Court tried avoiding any topic with the 14th amendment, but instead brought up different

Ferguson greatly influenced the lives of many Americans as it degraded the lives of countless African Americans limiting them from economic advancement, minimal educational possibilities, and frequent mistreatment and embarrassment. It was determined that distinctions made based on race were certainly constitutional. However, it is evident that the Court appeared to regard the separation of races as inconvenient to the people, and not a practice that would diminish the opportunities and rights of African American people. As such, rulings like the Plessy v. Ferguson case were decided based on race as oppose to the individual itself; such decisions should be made based on a person’s individual value as oppose to a person’s race or color. As black individuals were ordered below all others in all areas of life, such laws were put into place into order to sustain the authority of white individuals, establishing the goodness of

By the 19th century, many social forms of discrimination existed to keep Black Americans from being equal to White Americans. Laws like separate but equal where put into places to keep Black Americans from being in the same places as White Americans, like; neighborhoods, schools, churches, restaurants, and so on. White Americans also believed that Blacks should not have the right to vote; which led to many black movements for the continuous fight for equality in the nation of freedom. By 1954 the Brown vs. Board of Education case reversed the “separate but equal” doctrine that previously had been set in 1896, allowing children both White and Black children to attend the same schools and same classrooms. In

Behind “Separate and Unequal” Education Throughout the history of public schools in America, debates over segregation and desegregation have always been a prominent topic that attracts national attention. Back in 1896, the separate but equal doctrine, which confirmed in the Plessy V. Ferguson decision, was the first legal attempt to separate students into different schools. And it is not until 1955 that the Supreme Court finally decides to overturn the doctrine for its incapability of having separate but equal education for students of different races. With the passage of Civil Rights Act of 1964, the process of desegregation becomes more efficient by granting federal funds to schools that choose to desegregate.

It was not difficult to see the disparities in quality between services intended for use by whites versus those intended for blacks. Even with the apparent prejudice caused by the court decision, it would not be until 1954, fifty-eight years later, that segregation would be declared unconstitutional, with the court case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Unfortunately, it would take more than that to change our stubborn views. Only three years following the repeal, an incident in Little Rock, Arkansas occurred, where federal troops had to be sent in order to enforce this law and allow nine black students to enroll in an all-white high school, in relative safety. These events have shaped the education system into the intellectual labyrinth that, supposedly, guides and prepares our youth for the real world.

Education was one of the major rights African Americans were denied throughout history. Linda Brown and many other African Americans were denied the right to attend any all-white schools near their houses. Instead of attending a school near their houses, they were forced to travel extreme distances to attend elementary school. While if you were a white child you were granted the right to travel a small distance to receive schooling. To resolve this problem Linda and her father went to the supreme court to sue Kansas for having a segregated school system. The NAACP stepped in and ruled that having segregated schools rejected blacks the right to have “equal protection” ,which is in the 14th amendment. The NAACP also argued that the African-American children felt as if they were not good enough or at the same level as others to attend school with the white children. The Supreme Court decided to rule in favor of the Browns and declared it illegal to have segregation in public schools.