Plessy and Ferguson
By
John C Abercrombie
This is an update on an earlier post about the landmark United States Supreme Court Case, Plessy v Ferguson that ruled the “Separate but Equal” as the law of the land. The Separate portion of this quotation has been strictly enforced, the … but equal part of this expression has never been carried out in America.
Plessy v Ferguson did not start segregation, but did codify it, making it law.
This case is an example of the lack of detail in the teaching of American history. This was a monumental decision that affected the lives of millions yet is usually described in a paragraph or two.
One of the often overlooked details is the role of Supreme Court dissent of Justice John Marshall Harlan. A blistering dissent is still studied in law today and his dissents have proven correct in several cases. Harlan has been a slave owner as he took over the finances of his mother upon his father’s death, but it is believed that he had a close relationship with Robert Harlan a Black abolitionist who has been assumed to be his half-brother.
As you may have noticed, the title of this post is Plessy and Ferguson, not Plessy v Ferguson. That is because of descendants of Homer Plessy and Ferguson, the judge that rendered the decision that was upheld by the United States Supreme Court. They have formed a foundation to further the cause of education about the subject and to put up memorials marking significant locations in the case.
This post is particularly significant as it marks a posthumous pardon of Homer A Plessy 125 years after he pled guilty to riding in the White car on a streetcar. Also note that there are pictures depicting Plessy as having some color. This is incorrect as Plessy was 1/8 Black and did not look like he had any Black blood. This was a significant factor in the scheme. Many thought it absurd that a streetcar conductor would be charged with the role of determining the race of all people on board.
It had been arranged that a guard would ask Plessy if he were Black and when Plessy answered yes, he would be arrested. The well known abolitionist Frederick Douglass was completely set against this set up, worried that it could go horribly wrong. Douglass was right about this matter.
The author of a book about Justice Harlan arranged a meeting of descendants of Plessy and Ferguson. As Phoebe Ferguson apologized, the relative of Plessy explained that neither of them were born at the time and proposed that they work to heal and educate the country about Civil Rights. This was the beginnings of the Plessy and Ferguson Foundation which will be further explained in the videos that accompany this post.
It is important to remember that those of us living today were not alive during those times, but we can work together to make sure that it is never repeated.
It is our goal to provide you quality information that is often overlooked or glossed over in the history we are commonly taught. We appreciate it when you share the site and posts. We post weekly.
We include videos and books to encourage you to study the subject matter in greater detail. Enlightment is power. Empower yourself.
To review the Plessy v Ferrguson case click here.
We support our work with royalties that pay us for purchases made using our links without cost to you. Should you find an item in your cart that you do not want, simply click on the cart and remove that item and continue to do all of your shopping needs. It helps both of us by supporting our research that we pass on to you. We appreciate your support.
To see the full listing of posts, click on our Blog list
For Black History Month 2020, we posted daily. These posts focus on the reality of Black life in America after the Civil War culminating in the landmark Brown v Board of Education that changed so many of the earlier practices. To see the posts, click here
For Black History Month 2021, we focused on Black Medical Achievements, Inventors and Scientists.To see those posts, click here.
We plan to post on Black History Month 2022 with the theme “Health and Wellness”. Check often. Also planned for March is a tribute to Women. We also posted a 5 part mini-series on the 100th anniversary of one of the most horrific massacres in the history of America. Hundreds of Blacks were slaughtered and 10,000 left homeless in this largely unknown event. To see the posts, click here.
We also did a mini-series on the Schomburg Center for Research a most amazing collection of Black history and culture. To see this mini-series, click here
To comment or make suggestions on future posts, use Contact Us
We encourage you to share the site on social media.
Use our links to Amazon anytime you shop Amazon. We receive a small royalty without cost to you. Continue to scroll for fascinating Videos and Books to enhance your learning experience.
Continue scrolling down for more amazing information, videos, books and value items. Descendants of Plessy v. Ferguson create unlikely friendship This week marked 125 years since the Supreme Court ruled in Plessy v. Ferguson. The infamous landmark decision would become the foundation for Jim Crow policies sanctioning racial segregation in public spaces for the next 60 years. In an effort to undo decades of racism, two unlikely friends have come together to teach history as a way to create a more just future. Michelle Miller has the details.
**
History
Many times, we wonder where to find information on the subjects that are covered in our posts. The Amazon affiliate link below is an excellent choice of places to begin your search
**
We As Freemen:
Plessy v. Ferguson “Medley deftly puts in colorful context the U.S. Supreme Court’s signal 1896 decision sanctioning so-called separate but equal facilities. . . . Rich in family and community history and local lore, Medley’s work details the world of New Orleans’ free people of color . . . this remarkable read is recommended.” -Library Journal ABH – We As Freemen
**
Echo Devices
An excellent way to have access to audio books. Listen to your audio books or have your Kindle books read to you. A convenient way to enlighten and entertain yourself and so much more
**
Robert Harlan, from blue-eyed slave to Republican activist
Robert Harlan born a slave is believed to be the half brother of John Marshall Harlan. They developed a close relationship during their lives. Robert was a fierce defender of abolitionism.
**
Cell Phones and Accessories
ABH – cell phones and accessories
**
The Great Dissenter:
The Story of John Marshall Harlan, America’s Judicial Hero They say that history is written by the victors. But not in the case of the most famous dissenter on the Supreme Court. Almost a century after his death, John Marshall Harlan’s words helped end segregation and gave us our civil rights and our modern economic freedom. But his legacy would not have been possible without the courage of Robert Harlan, a slave who John’s father raised like a son in the same household. After the Civil War, Robert emerges as a political leader. With Black people holding power in the Republican Party, it is Robert who helps John land his appointment to the Supreme Court.
**
Try Audible Plus
Audible Plus, a brand new all-you-can-listen membership that offers access to thousands of titles, including a vast array of audiobooks, podcasts and originals that span genres, lengths, and formats.
**
Homer Plessy pardoned 130 years after arrest
Wednesday marks a historic milestone as Homer Plessy receives a full pardon 130 years after his for riding on a whites-only train car in New Orleans.
**
Television and Video
**
Separate and Unequal:
Homer Plessy and the Supreme Court Decision that Legalized Racism When Homer A. Plessy, a New Orleans shoemaker, refused to move to the “Jim Crow” railroad car set aside for Negroes by state law, he initiated a lawsuit challenging the entire system of racial segregation. In Separate but Unequal, Harvey Fireside traces the roots of the Supreme Court decision that enshrined racial separation in America for the next sixty years. He uncovers little-known areas of U.S. history, such as the remarkable Black Creole community that flourished as a distinct culture after Louisiana was purchased from France and Spain. Well-educated and prosperous, they threw in their lot with recently freed Negroes in the 1890s, because new racist laws relegated them both to second-class citizenship. Among the “carpetbaggers,” demonized in history as corrupt and greedy Northerners, Fireside reveals true idealists like Albion Tourgee, who argued Plessy’s case without fee to the Supreme Court. Seven justices their approved segregation laws, but Justice John Marshall Harlan — a former slave owner — dissented. He memorably punctured the hypocrisy behind a law claiming to provide “separate but equal” accommodations, which were actually inferior and racist. Unfortunately, as this book argues, these standards for African Americans still exist. Photographs are featured in this compelling historical drama.
**
Black History
**
How opinions of ‘the great dissenter’ John Harlan influence the Supreme Court
In the Supreme Court’s voting law decision Thursday, Justice Elena Kagan dissented and said the majority undermined the voting rights act by upholding Arizona’s laws. John Yang looks at another justice who delivered historic dissents during the Jim Crow era, John Harlan, whose career is documented in Peter Canellos’ “The Great Dissenter: The Story of John Marshall Harlan, America’s Judicial Hero.”
**
Valentine Day Gifts
**
Plessy v. Ferguson:
Race and Inequality in Jim Crow America (Landmark Law Cases and American Society) Six decades before Rosa Parks boarded her fateful bus, another traveler in the Deep South tried to strike a blow against racial discrimination—but ultimately fell short of that goal, leading to the Supreme Court’s landmark 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. Now Williamjames Hull Hoffer vividly details the origins, litigation, opinions, and aftermath of this notorious case.
**
Vegan Soul Food Cookbooks
ABH – Vegan Soul Food Cookbooks
**
The Great Dissenter:
The Story of John Marshall Harlan, America’s Judicial Hero During the era of the Gilded Age, America became more prosperous and saw unprecedented growth in industry and technology. But the Gilded Age had a more sinister side. During this time, northern whites were prepared to take away black rights to appease the South and giant trusts were monopolizing entire industries. The Supreme Court seemed all too willing to strip away civil rights and invalidate labor protections. In The Great Dissenter, award-winning writer and editor, Peter S. Canellos tells the story of Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan, and how he breaks with his colleagues on the Supreme Court and becomes the nation’s prime defender of the rights of Black people, immigrant laborers, and people in distant lands occupied by the United States. Harlan’s words built the foundations for the legal revolutions of the New Deal and Civil Rights eras.
**
The descendants of Homer Plessy and Judge Ferguson have joined forces with a descendant of Justice Harland to focus on healing the divide of segregation. All parties have come to terms with the fact that they were not alive at that time but can work towards making sure that the decision is not repeated. We can all take a lesson from them. Let’s make sure that the denial of civil rights ends with us. ** .