Plessy v. Ferguson

In the 1980s after the civil war, blacks had to overcome many obstacles to be considered equal to whites and whites did everything they could to make sure that blacks remained inferior. This became difficult to whites as the years progressed because civil rights leaders and radical republicans fought for former slaves and other African Americans so that one day blacks would be considered equal to everyone else. One of the many issues that blacks had to overcome was the situation of a thirty year old shoe maker by the name of Homer Plessy. He was seven-eighths white and one-eight black, but was still considered to be black according to the whites. He was taken to court for sitting on the “whites” car of the train but when he arrived in court, he faced a judge that previously declared that the separate car act that stated that there was a particular side for whites and blacks on a train was unconstitutional. This was difficult for Plessy because after his case was battled,the judge, John Howard Ferguson ruled him as guilty so he took it to federal court and was found guilty once again, which was unfortunate because these accusations were against the Constitution. Eventually, a justice by the name of Justin Harlan, who was one of the few who understood the importance of equality, wrote a memorable speech that forced the courts and others to understand the magnitude of blacks’ rights in America.