They wanted to challenge the constitutionality of the Louisiana state law under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.
Explanation
In Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896), the New Orleans' Citizens' Committee deliberately staged a confrontation over the Louisiana Separate Cars Act of 1890 (Act 111) in order to bring a "test case" before the US Supreme Court to challenge the constitutionality of the state law.
The Separate Cars Act provided that African-Americans and whites must be segregated into separate train cars, which the Committee hoped would be found unconstitutional under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. The basis for their optimism was a recent federal ruling declaring segregation in interstate travel unconstitutional.
Unfortunately, the Court declined to extend this protection to the States, and the Louisiana law was upheld.
They wanted the Court to declare the Separate Cars Act unconstitutional
Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896), sanctioned legal segregation by upholding a Louisiana Law that required separate train cars for African-American and Caucasian travelers. The Court reasoned that segregation was constitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment as long as the facilities and accommodations were equal. The Supreme Court's decision in Plessy is the origin of the "separate but equal" doctrine that legally allowed states to pass racist Jim Crow laws for almost 60 years.Brown v. Board of Education, (1954) specifically addressed the negative affects of segregation in public education, holding "separate but equal is inherently unequal," and also unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment Equal Protection Clause. Brown was an important milestone in the civil rights movement.Case Citations:Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896)Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954)
In 1892 Homer Plessy rode in a whites only railroad car. He was brought before the courts and argued that the lawwas unconstitutional. In 1896 the supreme court expressed a new legal document endorsing "seperate, but equal."
You are probably thinking of the 1898 Supreme Court case "Plessy vs. Ferguson." It involved a light-skinned black man named Homer Plessy who sat in the "whites only" section of a Louisiana train. He was arrested, and became determined to challenge what he saw as an unjust law. Sad to say, the Supreme Court upheld the segregation of railway cars (and everything else): as long as the facilities were equal for blacks and whites, it was okay to keep the two races separate. Of course, facilities were not equal for blacks-- whites had better schools, better housing, more opportunities to use libraries and other public buildings, etc. But the court had codified segregation, and the decision would not be overturned till 1954's "Brown vs. Board of Education."
Homer A. Plessy was the petitioner in the landmark US Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896) that validated the "separate but equal" doctrine and lead to generations of oppressive Jim Crow laws in the United States.Plessy was of mixed heritage, but was seven-eighths white. Both of Plessy's parents were listed as free persons of color, so it's impossible to tell which ancestors in the lineage on each side were African-American.Plessy had very light skin and admitted he could "pass" as white, although he had enough African traits to be able to challenge the Louisiana Separate Cars Act, 1890 legislation that enforced segregation in intrastate railway travel. Plessy belonged to a group called the "Citizens' Committee" that deliberately provoked subtle confrontation over the law.Lead Counsel for the case, Albion Tourgee, purposely chose Plessy for his light complexion, but wasn't simply trying to elevate the status of lighter-skinned African-Americans, as some of his contemporary darker-skinned peers criticized him of doing. Tourgee was a brilliant strategist who wanted equality for all African-Americans.
In Canada there is a yellow line in the middle of the road to separate the lanes. It is on your left side so drivers stay on your right to avoid collision from the cars on the other lane.
plessy v. Ferguson
They knew that challenging the law was dangerous
Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896)The Supreme Court held a Louisiana state law requiring African-Americans and whites travel in separate railroad cars was constitutional, as long as the facilities provided were separate but equal (the opinion actually says, "equal but separate"). The decision legally sanctioned racist and segregationist policies already in effect, particularly in the South, and encouraged the adoption of discriminatory Jim Crow laws.
They wanted Plessy to challenge the scientific racists
The court that will hear a case involving a dispute between the United States and Japan on the price of cars sent to America is the Supreme Court.
Plessy v Ferguson was a federal case that reached the United States Supreme Court. It involved a challenge to a Louisiana state law that required separate railroad cars for black and white passengers. The Supreme Court's decision in Plessy v Ferguson in 1896 established the "separate but equal" doctrine, which allowed racial segregation.
Plessy v. Ferguson was a significant Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation in public facilities, establishing the "separate but equal" doctrine. This case is often used as an example of a legal precedent that perpetuated racial discrimination and was later overturned by Brown v. Board of Education.
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896)The Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson, (1896) was a landmark case that upheld a Louisiana statute allowing for "equal but separate" facilities. The facilities in question were railway cars which were divided by partition and offered the same accommodations to white and "colored" races. It was found that these provisions were not in conflict with the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Homer A. Plessy (petitioner) was citizen of New Orleans whose heritage was part African-American. He helped challenge and was arrested for violating the Louisiana Separate Car Act of 1890 that required separate railroad cars for white and non-white travelers.John Howard Ferguson (respondent) was the judge in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, who heard the case of Homer A. Plessy under the Separate Car Act of 1890. Judge Ferguson had previously ruled that the act did not apply to interstate travel. Because he was named in the petition to the Louisiana Supreme Court, Ferguson was the appellant of record in the US Supreme Court case.Case Citation:Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896)
The Pullman Strike, after which the Illinois Supreme Court required George Pullman to end his ownership of the "company town" of Pullman, Illinois.
Plessy v. Ferguson originated in New Orleans, Louisiana, when a group of African-American professionals, the Citizens' Committee of New Orleans, decided to challenge the constitutionality of segregation laws. In this case, Homer Plessy deliberately violated the Louisiana Separate Car Act of 1890 (Act 111), that required whites and non-whites to ride in separate railway cars when traveling intrastate.Plessy, an "Octroon" in 19th-century Louisiana parlance (one-eighth African-American), was arrested after refusing to leave the whites-only car while traveling from New Orleans to Covington, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana on June 7, 1892. He was tried in Orleans Parrish, New Orleans, in Judge John Ferguson's court, the following month.Plessy was found guilty, but appealed his case through the Louisiana state courts and the US Supreme Court on the grounds that the Louisiana law was unconstitutional under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments. His loss in the Supreme Court affirmed the "separate but equal" doctrine that was used to justify segregation nationwide. The decision was finally overturned in the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education, (1954).Case Citation:Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896)For more information, see Related Questions, below.
Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 US 537 (1896)John Howard Ferguson was the judge in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, who heard the case of Homer A. Plessy under the Separate Car Act of 1890. Judge Ferguson had previously ruled that the act did not apply to interstate travel. Because he was named in the petition to the Louisiana Supreme Court, Ferguson was the appellant of record in the US Supreme Court case.(see related question)