Louisiana activists challenged segregation laws through a test case strategy and citizens committee.
Plessy v Ferguson upheld segregation under 'separate but equal,' leading to decades of racial inequality.
Deep dives
Louis Martinet Challenges Separate Car Act
Louis Martinet, a former attorney and newspaper publisher, challenges the Separate Car Act through a test case strategy to fight against racial discrimination in Louisiana. He forms a citizens committee to overturn the law, highlighting the unconstitutional nature of the act and the need for equal rights for all citizens.
Homer Plessy Becomes a Test Case
Homer Plessy, a 29-year-old shoemaker, becomes a test case for the Citizens Committee by intentionally sitting in a whites-only train car to challenge the Separate Car Act. His arrest and subsequent legal proceedings lead to the infamous Plessy v Ferguson Supreme Court case.
Supreme Court Upholds Separate but Equal
In 1896, the Supreme Court rules in Plessy v Ferguson, upholding the constitutionality of racial segregation under the doctrine of 'separate but equal.' Justice Henry Billings Brown's opinion enforces the legality of state-mandated segregation, leading to decades of racial inequality in the United States.
Legacy of Plessy v Ferguson
The aftermath of Plessy v Ferguson sees the rise of white supremacy laws in Louisiana and other states, disenfranchising black voters and institutionalizing segregation. Despite the setback, black activists, led by W. E. B. Du Bois and the NAACP, continue to fight for civil rights and challenge systemic racism across the nation.
After the Civil War, America began to rebuild a shattered nation. For the first time, the country could create a society without slavery, and a nation where Black people could forge their own path as independent citizens.
But by the 1890s, the laws and policies that promised new rights for Black citizens in the South were under assault. In Louisiana, white politicians attempted to turn back the clock on racial progress by passing the Separate Cars Act and reinstating segregation.
The move prompted a Black New Orleans activist group called the Comité des Citoyens to rise up and challenge the law. Members Louis Martinet and Albion Tourgee aimed to build atest case – a case that would force the Supreme Court to strike down segregation laws, and disprove the idea that “separate” could ever be “equal.”
The high-stakes case would define race relations for decades to come. And it would begin with a brief train car ride in New Orleans, by a 29-year-old shoemaker named Homer Plessy.
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