Plessey vs. Ferguson
Plessey vs. Ferguson is another case that deals with segregation. In 1892 Homer Adolph Plessey was thirty-year old shoemaker from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was only 1/8 black and his whole family passed as White, but the State of Louisiana considered him Black. Plessey wanted help fighting the new Separate Car Act that separated Blacks from Whites in the railroad cars. You could serve 20 days in jail or even a $25 fine if you sat in the wrong railroad cart. Plessey purchased a first class ticket and sat in the “White’s Only” car and waited until someone said something to him. The conductor consulted Plessey and he refused to move to the “Colored” car which resulted in him being arrested immediately and released the next morning. Plessey received an attorney name Albion W. Tourgee and they went to trial a month later and Tourgee argued that Plessey civil right under the 13th and 14th amendment was violated. The case was later brought up in Supreme Court. This case relates much too today because in a way segregation still stands. There are some buildings, restaurants, stores, and even employment that segregates base on race. More so they aren’t out front but behind the cover up its present. Personally I’ve encountered incidents where I order food from a restaurant that only “Whites” eat in and the food itself was delicious but the amount of food that was given on the plate didn’t match up with the food that was given on the “White” man plate. I feel its segregation because if I paid the same amount of money as the next person I should receive the same amount and quality,
Brown vs. Board of Education
Brown vs. Board of Education is a case that dealt around segregation also. It involved several different cases from Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware. Many “Black” students were fighting the issue on why they couldn’t be admitted into a public school because of the African American race “Black”. The question to the board was and I state “Is the race-based segregation of children into “Separate but Equal” public school constitutional? When we look at the 14th amendment it was brought about to do-away with laws that prohibited things based on race. With that amendment it showed that race-based segregation violated the EPC of the 14th amendment. Public school education is solely equal; everyone no matter your race could attend a public school and wouldn’t be divided but would be as one. To separate a child from a learning environment based on their race made students feel as if the next person was better than them; it would make students not want to go ahead further or even doubt the ability within their selves. The plaintiffs in this case won. This case relates much too today because in a sense we still have segregation. If feel that segregation still stands because we have private and public schools. If “Separate but equal” stands why are there private school. If everyone receives equal education why are there fees to attend private school rather than letting students receive an education. This doesn’t apply for colleges because of course you are grown and have responsibility by time you enter college. This makes me think about what’s taught in a private school so special that students would have to pay for a school education verses going to a public school. Is it that the state doesn’t fund these types of schools and they are able to expand abroad and get better learning equipment? So many questions come to mind on this subject when you think about a child’s education. This shows a slight segregation but not enough to be guilty of not holding up to the 14th amendment.

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[ 1 ]. Equal Protection Clause