May 18, 1896: The Supreme Court rules to allow segregation in Plessy v. Ferguson

Sunday 18 May 2008

The Supreme Court voted 7-1 to uphold a Louisiana law that legalized racial segregation on railroad cars as long as the cars offered equal accommodations. The Court held that the law did not violate the 14th Amendment right of equal protection under the law for all citizens. The ruling created the ''separate but equal'' doctrine that would apply to the federal government and eventually be used to justify racial segregation in public facilities. In 1954, the Court overturned the decision in Brown v. Board of Education.