
English: 
In the aftermath of the Civil War,
the Reconstruction Amendments
were ratified in an attempt
to ensure greater liberty
equality for African Americans.
Equality would prove to be elusive,
however, as African Americans
were subjected
subjected to extreme
violence and intimidation.
They were also held back
by discriminatory laws,
grandfather clauses,
poll taxes, and literacy tests
often kept them from voting.
Laws also required
their physical separation from whites
during what is known
as the Jim Crow era.
In 1890, Louisiana passed
a Separate Car Law
that required railroads
to provide separate
equal accommodations
for white and black passengers.
African Americans viewed
this separation as a violation
of their right to citizenship.
Did the Separate Car Law
violate the constitutional rights
of free people guaranteed
by the 14th Amendment?
That's what the Supreme Court was taxed
to answer in a landmark 1896 case.

English: 
In the aftermath of the Civil War,
the Reconstruction Amendments
were ratified in an attempt
to ensure greater liberty
equality for African Americans.
Equality would prove to be elusive,
however, as African Americans
were subjected
subjected to extreme
violence and intimidation.
They were also held back
by discriminatory laws,
grandfather clauses,
poll taxes, and literacy tests
often kept them from voting.
Laws also required
their physical separation from whites
during what is known
as the Jim Crow era.
In 1890, Louisiana passed
a Separate Car Law
that required railroads
to provide separate
equal accommodations
for white and black passengers.
African Americans viewed
this separation as a violation
of their right to citizenship.
Did the Separate Car Law
violate the constitutional rights
of free people guaranteed
by the 14th Amendment?
That's what the Supreme Court was taxed
to answer in a landmark 1896 case.

English: 
This is Plessy versus Ferguson.
[music]
Homer Plessy was
a biracial Creole from New Orleans.
Only one-eighth African American,
Plessy appeared white
still classified as black.
After the passing
of the Separate Car Law,
Plessy, together with a group
of other black and Creole citizens,
formed the Citizens Committee
to test the constitutionality
of the Separate Car Law.
Sounds like a mouthful,
the group's message was clear.
They thought the Louisiana law
was unconstitutional
would challenge it at all costs.
Plessy volunteered to buy
a railway ticket for a train
traveling within Louisiana's borders.
lessy boarded the train
took a seat in a white-only car.
A conductor asked him
if he was colored,
which Plessy affirmed.

English: 
This is Plessy versus Ferguson.
[music]
Homer Plessy was
a biracial Creole from New Orleans.
Only one-eighth African American,
Plessy appeared white
still classified as black.
After the passing
of the Separate Car Law,
Plessy, together with a group
of other black and Creole citizens,
formed the Citizens Committee
to test the constitutionality
of the Separate Car Law.
Sounds like a mouthful,
the group's message was clear.
They thought the Louisiana law
was unconstitutional
would challenge it at all costs.
Plessy volunteered to buy
a railway ticket for a train
traveling within Louisiana's borders.
lessy boarded the train
took a seat in a white-only car.
A conductor asked him
if he was colored,
which Plessy affirmed.

English: 
The conductor then ordered him
to leave the car,
when Plessy refused, he was arrested.
Plessy's lawyers argued
that the Separate Car Law
violated his rights
under the 13th Amendment
as well as the Equal Protection Clause
of the 14th Amendment.
Plessy was convicted of violating
the Separate Car Law.
His conviction was first upheld
by US District Court Judge
John Howard Ferguson,
then later by Louisiana Supreme Court.
Plessy then appealed
to the United States Supreme Court,
who agreed to hear his case.
How would the court rule?
Would they interpret
the Separate Car Law as a violation
of the Reconstruction Amendments?
In a 7-1 decision,
the Supreme Court ruled against Plessy.
With Justice Henry Billings Brown
writing the majority opinion,
the court cited the recently decided
civil rights cases as a precedent.
These cases essentially stated
that an act of discrimination
from either an individual
a business could not be
justly regarded as imposing
slavery upon the applicant.

English: 
The conductor then ordered him
to leave the car,
when Plessy refused, he was arrested.
Plessy's lawyers argued
that the Separate Car Law
violated his rights
under the 13th Amendment
as well as the Equal Protection Clause
of the 14th Amendment.
Plessy was convicted of violating
the Separate Car Law.
His conviction was first upheld
by US District Court Judge
John Howard Ferguson,
then later by Louisiana Supreme Court.
Plessy then appealed
to the United States Supreme Court,
who agreed to hear his case.
How would the court rule?
Would they interpret
the Separate Car Law as a violation
of the Reconstruction Amendments?
In a 7-1 decision,
the Supreme Court ruled against Plessy.
With Justice Henry Billings Brown
writing the majority opinion,
the court cited the recently decided
civil rights cases as a precedent.
These cases essentially stated
that an act of discrimination
from either an individual
a business could not be
justly regarded as imposing
slavery upon the applicant.

English: 
Likewise, the court held
that the law didn't even violate
the Equal Protection Clause
of the 14th Amendment
as it didn't deem
one race inferior to the other.
Segregation laws
were best held as constitutional,
whether applied on trains, educational
facilities, or other public spaces.
This established the odious
doctrine of separate but equal.
The lone dissenter on the case
was Justice John Marshall Harlan,
whose words supported
the equality of all persons
under the law and constitutional
liberties. Justice Harlan stated,
"Our Constitution is colorblind,
neither knows nor tolerates
classes among citizens.
In respect of civil rights,
all citizens are equal before the law."
It was not until 1954
that the Supreme Court reversed
the precedent set
by Plessy versus Ferguson,
the unanimously decided
Brown versus Board of Education case.
The court barred segregation in schools
announced that separate

English: 
Likewise, the court held
that the law didn't even violate
the Equal Protection Clause
of the 14th Amendment
as it didn't deem
one race inferior to the other.
Segregation laws
were best held as constitutional,
whether applied on trains, educational
facilities, or other public spaces.
This established the odious
doctrine of separate but equal.
The lone dissenter on the case
was Justice John Marshall Harlan,
whose words supported
the equality of all persons
under the law and constitutional
liberties. Justice Harlan stated,
"Our Constitution is colorblind,
neither knows nor tolerates
classes among citizens.
In respect of civil rights,
all citizens are equal before the law."
It was not until 1954
that the Supreme Court reversed
the precedent set
by Plessy versus Ferguson,
the unanimously decided
Brown versus Board of Education case.
The court barred segregation in schools
announced that separate

English: 
is inherently unequal
unconstitutional.
The 1964 Civil Rights Act
would go further, and ban segregation
in all public accommodations.
In 2009, the Plessy and Ferguson
Foundation of New Orleans
erected a historical marker
at the site of Plessy's arrest
to assure his memory lives on,
when will our highest court
next interpret racial equality?
This was the case
of Plessy versus Ferguson.
Thank you guys for watching.
Make sure you like and subscribe.
If you really liked it, comment below.

English: 
is inherently unequal
unconstitutional.
The 1964 Civil Rights Act
would go further, and ban segregation
in all public accommodations.
In 2009, the Plessy and Ferguson
Foundation of New Orleans
erected a historical marker
at the site of Plessy's arrest
to assure his memory lives on,
when will our highest court
next interpret racial equality?
This was the case
of Plessy versus Ferguson.
Thank you guys for watching.
Make sure you like and subscribe.
If you really liked it, comment below.
