Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)

1) Link to the Actual Opinion
Read the U.S. Reports opinion (PDF)

2) Summary of the Opinion
Homer Plessy, a mixed-race man, challenged Louisiana’s law requiring segregated railway cars. The Supreme Court upheld the law, ruling that “separate but equal” facilities for Black and white citizens did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment.

3) Why It Mattered
This case legitimized racial segregation and provided constitutional cover for Jim Crow laws across the South for more than half a century.