Online Class Assignment 2

Plessy V. Ferguson

This case is an underrated version of the infamous Rosa Parks incident. A man named Homer Plessy decided to sit down in a Louisiana train after a "seperate yet equal" act was passed. The Seperate Car Act was named for it's rules of allowing train companies in Louisiana to seperate train cars by race and impose a 25 dollar or 20 years in prison fine to anyone who violated sed law. Plessy decided to sit in the white side of the cars. Although only being one-eighth black, Plessy was still arrested for violating the Seperate Car Act. Plessy decided to take the case into higher courts, after being shot down by two lower courts. When taken to the Supreme Court, Plessy's case was again shot down. His arguement based on the idea that the Seperate Car Act violated the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments was quickly picked apart. Based on the thirteenth amendment, slavery and involuntary servitude was to be abolished, and it was fully agreed that neither was taking place in this case being tried. On the side of the fourteenth amendment, where people who are born US citizen should not be under laws which will opress or hold them from pursuing life, liberty, and the pursuit. Plessy lost here also because these laws protect all, although making them seperate, no one was directly oppressed. The idea of seperate yet equal was allowed by the fourteenth amendment in this case, as were serperate schools. The attempt was admirable, although it was later a failure.

Thesis Statement

The views of W.E.B Du Bois with Langston Hughes converged around the potential of the black people in the work place, and in society. They both had strong views pertaining to the advancements of the black community through staying true to remaining more "black" and looking at their race as a blessing and not a "misfortune."