1. Plessey vs. Ferguson and Jim Crow Laws
“Separate but Equal”
Plessey vs. Ferguson and Jim Crow Laws

2. What is it?
The phrase “separate but equal” pertains to facilities used by blacks and whites
Blacks would have to use separate facilities (schools, train cars, restrooms, parks, etc) that were equal in quality
Whites used this as an excuse to exclude blacks and deny them service

3. Where did it come from?
States were passing laws to segregate railroads
Separate Car Act legally segregated common carriers (different cars for blacks and whites)
Homer Plessey was part of a planned challenge of this law’s constitutionality
Was the second challenge
Arrested – Defended by Tourgee
Case: How would you defend Plessey’s rights?????
- gettysburg
- integration

4. Plessey vs. Ferguson
Local court determined law was Constitutional (did not violate 14th amendment)
Judge: John Howard Ferguson
Went to Louisiana State Court
Constitutionality upheld
Supreme Court- 1896
8 out of 9 judges voted against Tourgee’s case
Enforced separation does not "stamp" blacks with the badge of inferiority, because both blacks and whites were treated equally under the law--in the sense that whites were forbidden to sit in a railroad car designated for blacks.

5. Impact Gave the South the “green light” for segregation
Schools, restaurants, theaters, etc.
In reality, facilities were not equal
Continued into the 1950s – Brown vs. Board of Education
Nicknamed “Jim Crow Laws”
Media depiction- Remember the Titans

6. Review Who was Plessey? Ferguson? Was this an organized protest?
How did Southern society respond to this court case?

7. Response to the Jim Crow Laws
Many African Americans began migrating North
Many areas still segregated, but not to the extent of the South
Lack of acceptance in some areas
NYC race riot of 1900

8. Great Migration
In the 1920s Migration to the North increased enormously
Push factors:
Escape racial discrimination
Boll weevil infestation ruined crops in the South
Pull factors:
Job opportunities in the North
Henry Ford – 1914
World War I
Drop in European immigration
Immigration Act of 1924

9. Great Migration
Northern manufacturers in need of workers distributed rail passes
Chicago Defender promoted vision of prosperity in the North
Hazards of living in the South
Job openings in the North
Train schedules
Statistics: ~500,000 blacks moved North between 1915 and 1920

10. Review Why was there an influx of migration to the North in the 1920s?
Push and pull factors
Who encouraged this move and how?
How did some Northerners respond?