Plessy V. Ferguson: Legalizing Segregation

In 1892, a black shoemaker named Homer Plessy was arrested for sitting in the White railroad car in Louisiana. Though Plessy was only one-eighth black, he was considered black under Louisiana law and therefore required to sit in the Colored car. Found guilty, in his appeal to the Supreme Court, the verdict was upheld with the finding that separate but equal facilities for the races were not unconstitutional. This doctrine was quickly used to cover many areas of public life. This fascinating book looks at race relations in America, and the fight to change the separate but equal law in Louisiana.