Question
according to the ruling in plessy vs. ferguson case why was segregation acceptable
Answers
GPT-4o mini
In the landmark case of **Plessy v. Ferguson** (1896), the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the doctrine of "separate but equal." The Court ruled that segregation was acceptable as long as the separate facilities for the different races were considered equal in quality.
The case arose when Homer Plessy, who was of mixed race, was arrested for sitting in a "whites-only" railroad car in Louisiana. The Court's decision effectively legitimized state laws that enforced racial segregation across various public facilities, including schools, transportation, and public accommodations.
The majority opinion argued that the law only enforced a legal distinction between races and did not imply the inferiority of either race. This ruling provided a legal foundation for continued segregation and discrimination against African Americans until it was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court in **Brown v. Board of Education** (1954), which declared that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.
The case arose when Homer Plessy, who was of mixed race, was arrested for sitting in a "whites-only" railroad car in Louisiana. The Court's decision effectively legitimized state laws that enforced racial segregation across various public facilities, including schools, transportation, and public accommodations.
The majority opinion argued that the law only enforced a legal distinction between races and did not imply the inferiority of either race. This ruling provided a legal foundation for continued segregation and discrimination against African Americans until it was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court in **Brown v. Board of Education** (1954), which declared that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.