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Plessy v. Ferguson: Race and Inequality in Jim Crow America (Landmark Law Cases and American Society)
Plessy v Ferguson Race and Inequality in Jim Crow America - Landmark Law Cases and American Society Author:Williamjames Hull Hoffer Six decades before Rosa Parks boarded her fateful bus, another traveler in the Deep South tried to strike a blow against racial discrimination?but ultimately fell short of that goal, leading to the Supreme Court?s landmark 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. Now Williamjames Hull Hoffer vividly details the origins, litigation, opinions, and aft... more »ermath of this notorious case.
In response to the passage of the Louisiana Separate Car Act of 1890, which prescribed ?equal but separate accommodations? on public transportation, a group called the Committee of Citizens decided to challenge its constitutionality. At a pre-selected time and place, Homer Plessy, on behalf of the committee, boarded a train car set aside for whites, announced his non-white racial identity, and was immediately arrested. The legal deliberations that followed eventually led to the Court?s 7-1 decision in Plessy, which upheld both the Louisiana statute and the state?s police powers. It also helped create a Jim Crow system that would last deep into the twentieth century, until Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 and other cases helped overturn it.
Hoffer?s compelling reconstruction illuminates the controversies and impact of Plessy v. Ferguson for a new generation of students and other interested readers. It also pays tribute to a group of little known heroes from the Deep South who failed to hold back the tide of racial segregation but nevertheless laid the groundwork for a less divided America.
This book is part of the Landmark Law Cases and American Society series.« less