Case Law Index
federal1896
Additional Highlights:Equal ProtectionRacial SegregationCivil Rights
Plessy v. Ferguson
United States Supreme Court
Key Holding
Racial segregation in public facilities is constitutional so long as the separate facilities are equal. (Overruled by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.)
Case Summary
Plessy v. Ferguson upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities under the "separate but equal" doctrine, which remained the law of the land until Brown v. Board of Education overruled it in 1954.