Plessy v. Ferguson

Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark 1896 Supreme Court case that upheld racial segregation laws in the United States. Homer Plessy, who was of mixed race, challenged Louisiana's law requiring separate train cars for blacks and whites. The Court ruled that "separate but equal" facilities did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This decision legitimized racially segregated public facilities for decades, reinforcing systemic inequality until it was eventually overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. The case highlighted the struggle for civil rights and the legal basis for segregation.