Plessy v. Ferguson 1896

Did a Louisiana law requiring separate railway cars by race violate the Fourteenth Amendment?

163 U.S. 537 (1896)Equal protectionOverruled in 1954

The question: Did a Louisiana law requiring separate railway cars by race violate the Fourteenth Amendment?
What the Court held: No. Separate accommodations that were equal did not violate equal protection. Justice Harlan dissented: “Our Constitution is color-blind.”
The vote: 7–1
Later overruled by: Brown v. Board of Education (1954), 58 years later.
Era: The Gilded Age
Read the opinion: 163 U.S. 537 (1896), full text

This page summarizes the Court’s judgment in neutral terms. The opinion, concurrences and dissents are the authority; read them for the reasoning.