An 1890 Louisiana law ordered that railroads must have separate but equal accommodations for whites and colored races. Anyone who violated this law was either fined $20 or put in jail for 25 days. Plessy, who was 1/8 black sat in the white people section. When the conductor asked him to move, he refused to give up his seat. He was arrested and a local judge, Ferguson, ordered him to be imprisoned. Plessy appealed to the United States Supreme Court with the argument that the law in Louisiana violates both the Thirteenth Amendment (forbids slavery) and the Fourteenth Amendment (prohibits the denial of equal protection to any person).
The Court quickly ignored the issue of the Thirteenth Amendment. They felt that just because there is a legal distinction between the two races, it doesn't mean they are being treated unequally. I am disappointed that segregation was not addressed. Although the whites and colored are essentially being treated equal, why does there still have to be separation? Justice Henry Brown explained that the Fourteenth Amendment enforces "absolute equality of the two races" and that, "it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based on color." Even though there is fair treatment, I feel that it is racist just to simply make a distinction. I guess that means that we're all a little racist, but it's the truth. The law should simply address the citizens, there is no reason to distinguish between whites and colored people.
Here is a video with Gary Orfield, who co-founded the Harvard Civil Right Project. In this video he talks about the case of Plessy v. Ferguson and how we have evolved since then.
It will be a long time before racism completely goes away in this country, but we have come a long way. Segregation will unfortunately always be a part of human nature. It's not just colored races dealing with it, but homosexuals as well. Plessy's case is a landmark in history because it is part of what jump started society's struggle for equality across the counrty.
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