Plessy v. Ferguson

In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 7–1 decision, ruled that the separate but equal provision of private services was constitutional under the equal protection clause. State laws requiring segregation based solely on race in private businesses were entirely legal based on the court's ruling. This standard would allow continued de jure discrimination against racial minorities through legalized segregation until Brown v. Board of Education was decided in 1954, which overturned the separate but equal doctrine.

In July 1892, the New Orleans ...