The Civil Rights Movement from 1865 to 1954: Plessy v. Ferguson

What act did Louisiana pass in 1890?

The Separate Car Act which stated that there needed to be separate train cars for black and white people

A group of activists challenged the law in:

1892

What was the plan by the social activists?

They convinced Homer Plessy, a 1/8 African American, to sit in a whites-only car

Why was the train company in on the scheme?

Pulling two cars was inefficient and cost them money that they wouldn’t be spending if everybody could just use one car

How much did the private investigator (hired by the train company) charge Plessy for sitting in the wrong car?

$25, $950 in 2022 money

When did Plessy’s conviction reach the Supreme Court?

1896

What decision did the supreme court reach?

In a 7-1 Southern majority they ruled that “separate but equal” did not violate the 14th amendment as long as equal settings were provided for both white and black people

What did this decision cause?

Jim Crow Laws to be present in the South for over 60 years