Plessy v. Ferguson
1
Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy v. Ferguson
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 13, 1896
Decided May 18, 1896
Full case name
Homer A. Plessy v. Ferguson
Citations
[1]
163 U.S. 537
(more)
16 S. Ct. 1138; 41 L. Ed. 256; 1896 U.S. LEXIS 3390
Prior history
Ex parte Plessy, 11 So. 948 (La. 1892)
Subsequent history
None
[2]
Holding
The "separate but equal" provision of private services mandated by state government is constitutional under the Equal Protection Clause.
Court membership
Case opinions
Majority
Brown, joined by Fuller, Field, Gray, Shiras, White, Peckham
Dissent
Harlan
Brewer took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. XIV; 1890 La. Acts 152
Overruled by
Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483
[3]
(1954)
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), is a landmark United States Supreme Court decision in the jurisprudence of the United
States, upholding the constitutionality of state laws requiring racial segregation in public facilities under the doctrine
of "separate but equal."[4]
The decision was handed down by a vote of 7 to 1 with the majority opinion written by Justice Henry Billings Brown
and the dissent written by Justice John Marshall Harlan. "Separate but equal" remained standard doctrine in U.S. law
until its repudiation in the 1954 Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education.[5]
After the Supreme Court ruling, the New Orleans Comité des Citoyens (Committee of Citizens), which had brought
the suit and arranged for Homer Plessy's arrest in order to challenge Louisiana's segregation law, replied, “We, as
freemen, still believe that we were right and our cause is sacred.”[6]
Plessy v. Ferguson
2
The Case
In 1890, the state of Louisiana passed a law (the "Separate Car Act")
that required separate accommodations for blacks and whites on
railroads, including separate railway cars.[7] Concerned, a group of
prominent black, creole, and white New Orleans residents formed the
Comité des Citoyens (Committee of Citizens) dedicated to repeal the
law.[6] They eventually persuaded Homer Plessy to participate in an
orchestrated test case. Plessy was born a free man and was an
"octoroon" (someone of seven-eighths Caucasian descent and
one-eighth African descent). However, under Louisiana law, he was
classified as black, and thus required to sit in the "colored" car.[8]
Marker placed at Press and Royal Streets on
February 12, 2009 commemorating the arrest of
Homer Plessy on June 7, 1892 for violating the
Louisiana 1890 Separate Car Act.
On June 7, 1892, Plessy bought a first class ticket at the Press Street
Depot and boarded a "whites only" car of the East Louisiana Railroad
in New Orleans, Louisiana, bound for Covington, Louisiana.[9] The
railroad company, which opposed the law on the grounds that it would
require the purchase of more railcars, had been informed already as to Plessy's racial lineage.[10] Additionally, the
committee hired a private detective with arrest powers to detain Plessy, to ensure he was charged for violating the
Separate Car Act, as opposed to a vagrancy or some other offense.[10] After Plessy had taken a seat in the
whites-only railway car, he was asked to vacate it and sit instead in the blacks-only car. Plessy refused and was
arrested immediately by the detective.[11] As planned, the train was stopped and Plessy was taken off the train at
Press and Royal streets.[10] Plessy was remanded for trial in Orleans Parish.
In his case, Homer Adolph Plessy v. The State of Louisiana, Plessy argued that the state law which required East
Louisiana Railroad to segregate trains had denied him his rights under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments of
the United States Constitution.[12] However, the judge presiding over his case, John Howard Ferguson, ruled that
Louisiana had the right to regulate railroad companies as long as they operated within state boundaries. Plessy was
convicted and sentenced to pay a $25 fine. He immediately sought a writ of prohibition.
The Committee of Citizens took Plessy's appeal to the Supreme Court of Louisiana, where he again found an
unreceptive ear, as the state Supreme Court upheld Judge Ferguson's ruling.[10] Undaunted, the Committee appealed
to the United States Supreme Court in 1896.[13]Two legal briefs were submitted on Plessy's behalf. One was signed
by Albion W. Tourgée and James C. Walker and the other by Samuel F. Phillips and his legal partner F. D.
McKenney. Oral arguments were held before the Supreme Court on April 13, 1896. Tourgée and Phillips appeared
in the courtroom to speak on behalf of Plessy.
Tourgée built his case upon violations of Plessy's rights under the Thirteenth Amendment, prohibiting slavery, and
the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees the same rights to all citizens of the United States, and the equal
protection of those rights, against the deprivation of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Tourgee
argued that the reputation of being a black man was "property," which, by the law, implied the inferiority of
African-Americans as compared to whites.[14]
The Decision
In a 7 to 1 decision handed down on May 18, 1896 (Justice David Josiah Brewer did not participate because of the
death of his daughter),[15] the Court rejected Plessy's arguments based on the Fourteenth Amendment, seeing no way
in which the Louisiana statute violated it.[10] In addition, the majority of the Court rejected the view that the
Louisiana law implied any inferiority of blacks, in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment. Instead, it contended that
the law separated the two races as a matter of public policy.[16]
Plessy v. Ferguson
When summarizing, Justice Brown declared, "We consider the underlying fallacy of the plaintiff's argument to
consist in the assumption that the enforced separation of the two races stamps the colored race with a badge of
inferiority. If this be so, it is not by reason of anything found in the act, but solely because the colored race chooses
to put that construction upon it."[17]
While the Court did not find a difference in quality between the whites-only and blacks-only railway cars, this was
manifestly untrue in the case of most other separate facilities, such as public toilets, cafés, and public schools, where
the facilities designated for blacks were poorer than those designated for whites.[18]
Justice John Marshall Harlan, who decried the excesses of the Ku Klux Klan, wrote a scathing dissent in which he
predicted the court's decision would become as infamous as that of Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857). As heralded as
this dissent may be, in which Harlan called for a "color-blind" constitution, it should be noted that he did not view all
races as equal. In his dissent, Harlan highlighted the plight of blacks by pointing out that the Chinese, a race he
viewed as inferior, could still ride with whites. "There is a race so different from our own that we do not permit those
belonging to it to become citizens of the United States. Persons belonging to it are, with few exceptions, absolutely
excluded from our country. I allude to the Chinese race," he wrote.[19]
New Orleans historian Keith Weldon Medley, author of We As Freemen: Plessy v. Ferguson, The Fight Against
Legal Segregation, said the words in Justice Harlan's "Great Dissent" originated with papers filed with the court by
"The Citizen’s Committee."[20]
The case helped cement the legal foundation for the doctrine of separate but equal, the idea that segregation based on
classifications was legal as long as facilities were of equal quality. However, Southern state governments refused to
provide blacks with genuinely equal facilities and resources in the years after the Plessy decision. The states not only
separated races but, in actuality, ensured differences in quality. In January 1897, Homer Plessy pleaded guilty to the
violation and paid the fine.[10]
Influence of Plessy v. Ferguson
Plessy legitimized the move toward segregation practices begun earlier in the South and provided an impetus for
further segregation laws. Legislative achievements won during the Reconstruction Era were erased through means of
the "separate but equal" doctrine.[21] The doctrine was further justified by a previous Supreme Court decision in
1875, which limited the federal government's ability to intervene in state affairs, only guaranteeing Congress the
power “to restrain states from acts of racial discrimination and segregation."[22] The ruling basically granted states
legislative immunity when dealing with questions of race, guaranteeing the state’s right to implement racially
separate institutions requiring them only to be “equal”.[23] The prospect of greater state influence in matters of race
worried numerous advocates of civil equalities including Supreme Court justice John Harlan who wrote in his
dissent of the Plessy decision, “we shall enter upon an era of constitutional law, when the rights of freedom and
American citizenship cannot receive from the nation that efficient protection which heretofore was unhesitatingly
accorded to slavery and the rights of the master."[24] Harlan’s concerns about the entrenchment on the 14th
Amendment would prove well founded as states benefited to institute segregation based law that would become
popularized as the Jim Crow system.[25]
The effect was immediate as noted through significant racial differences in educational funding emerging in the late
1890s that would prove enormous by the 20th century. States which had previously successfully integrated elements
of their society abruptly adopted oppressive legislation that erased reconstruction era efforts.[26] Jim Crow laws
would spread northward in response to a second wave of African American immigration and would eventually
extend to segregated educational facilities, separate public institutions such as hotels and restaurants, separate
beaches among other public facilities, restrictions on interracial marriage among numerous other facets of daily
life.[26] Unfortunately, the separate facilities and institutions accorded to the African American community were
consistently inferior[27] to those provided to the White community and contradicted the vague declaration of
“separate but equal” institutions issued after the Plessy decision.[28]
3
Plessy v. Ferguson
4
Jim Crow legislation related to voting would quietly disenfranchise the Southern African American by requiring of
prospective voters proof of land ownership or literacy tests at poll stations. African American community leaders
who had achieved brief political success during the Reconstruction era lost any gains made when their voters
disappeared. Historian Rogers Smith noted on the subject “lawmakers frequently admitted, indeed boasted, that such
measures as complex registration rules, literacy and property tests, poll taxes, white primaries, and grandfather
clauses were designed to produce an electorate confined to a white race that declared itself supreme”, notably
rejecting the 14th and 15th Amendments to the American Constitution.[29] The “separate but equal” doctrine would
characterize American society until the doctrine was ultimately overturned during the 1954 Supreme Court decision
of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas.[30]
Plessy and Ferguson Foundation
Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson, descendants of the players on both sides of the Supreme Court case, have
announced the Plessy and Ferguson Foundation for Education and Reconciliation. The foundation will work to
create new ways to teach the history of civil rights through film, art, and public programs designed to create
understanding of this historic case and its effect on the American conscience.[31]
Plaque at railyard site
Front of plaque
Back of plaque
Historians gathered with the Plessy and Ferguson families and a member of the Louisiana Supreme Court in New
Orleans on February 12, 2009, to unveil a historical marker recalling the case.[10] "It is no longer Plessy v Ferguson.
It is Plessy and Ferguson," said Keith Plessy in a Public Broadcasting radio interview[32]. The marker was placed on
the corner of Press and Royal Streets, near the location of the former railway station where Plessy had boarded his
train.[32]
Plessy v. Ferguson
References
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
https:/ / supreme. justia. com/ us/ 163/ 537/ case. html
http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=U4I7AAAAIAAJ& printsec=titlepage#PPA948
https:/ / supreme. justia. com/ us/ 347/ 483/ case. html
Groves, Harry E. "Separate but Equal--The Doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson." Phylon (1940-1956). 12. no. 1 (1st Qtr., 1951): 66-72. http:/ /
www. jstor. org/ stable/ 272323
[5] Encyclopedia of American Studies, s.v. "Plessy v. Ferguson" http:/ / www. credoreference. com/ entry/ jhueas/ plessy_v_ferguson
[6] Medley, Keith Weldon (2003). We As Freeman: Plessy v. Ferguson: The Fight Against Legal Segregation (http:/ / pelicanpub. com/
proddetail. asp?prod=1589801202). Pelican Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-58980-120-2. .
[7] Encyclopedia of American Studies, s.v. "Plessy v. Ferguson" http:/ / www. credoreference. com/ entry/ jhueas/ plessy_v_ferguson
[8] Koffi N, Maglo. "GENOMICS AND THE CONUNDRUM OF RACE: some epistemic and ethical considerations" (https:/ / envoy. lcc. edu/
login?url=http:/ / envoy. lcc. edu:2880/ ?url=http:/ / envoy. lcc. edu:2880/ docview/ 733078852?accountid=1599). Johns Hopkins University
Press. . Retrieved 4 October 2011.
[9] "Plessy v. Ferguson (No. 210)" (http:/ / www. law. cornell. edu/ supct/ html/ historics/ USSC_CR_0163_0537_ZS. html). Legal Information
Institute. . Retrieved 4 October 2011.
[10] Katy Reckdahl (2009-02-11). "Plessy and Ferguson unveil plaque today marking their ancestors' actions" (http:/ / www. nola. com/ news/
index. ssf/ 2009/ 02/ plessy_vs_ferguson_photo. html). The Times-Picayune. .
[11] "Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)" (http:/ / www. pbs. org/ wnet/ supremecourt/ antebellum/ landmark_plessy. html). PBS. . Retrieved 4 October
2011.
[12] Maidment, Richard A. "Plessy v. Ferguson Re-Examined." Journal of American Studies. 7. no. 2 (August 1973): 125-132. http:/ / www.
jstor. org/ stable/ 27553056
[13] Maidment, Richard A. "Plessy v. Ferguson Re-Examined." Journal of American Studies. 7. no. 2 (August 1973): 125-132. http:/ / www.
jstor. org/ stable/ 27553056
[14] Gordon, Milton M. "Enforcing Racial Segregation: It is Viewed As Violating the Rights of All Americans." New York Times (1923-Current
File) http:/ / www. proquest. com/
[15] Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896) (full text in one web page) (http:/ / caselaw. lp. findlaw. com/ scripts/ getcase. pl?court=US&
vol=163& invol=537)
[16] Bishop, David W. "Plessy v. Ferguson: A Reinterpretation." The Journal of Negro History. 62. no. 2 (April 1977): 125-133. http:/ / www.
jstor. org/ stable/ 2717173
[17] http:/ / supreme. justia. com/ cases/ federal/ us/ 163/ 537/ case. html
[18] Fireside, Harvey. Separate and Unequal: Homer Plessy and the Supreme Court Decision That Legalized Racism. New York: Carroll &
Graf, 2004.
[19] http:/ / www. bgsu. edu/ departments/ acs/ 1890s/ plessy/ dissent. html
[20] "Civil rights pioneer celebrated with marker" (http:/ / www. wwltv. com/ video/ news-index. html?nvid=330530) (Flash). 2009-02-10. .
[21] Sutherland, Arthur E. "Segregation and the Supreme Court." The Atlantic Monthly, July 1954. http:/ / www. theatlantic. com/ magazine/
archive/ 1954/ 07/ segregation-and-the-supreme-court/ 6055
[22] Oldfield, John. 2004. "STATE POLITICS, RAILROADS, AND CIVIL RIGHTS IN SOUTH CAROLINA, 1883–89." American Nineteenth
Century History 5, no. 2: 71–91. America: History & Life, EBSCOhost (accessed February 1, 2010).
[23] Smithsonian National Museum of American History Behring Center, "Separate But Equal: The Law of the Land." http:/ / www.
americanhistory. si. edu/ brown/ history/ 1-segregated/ separate-but-equal. html
[24] Oldfield, John. 2004. "STATE POLITICS, RAILROADS, AND CIVIL RIGHTS IN SOUTH CAROLINA, 1883–89." American Nineteenth
Century History 5, no. 2: 71–91. America: History & Life, EBSCOhost (accessed February 1, 2010
[25] Krock, Arthur. "In the Nation: An Historic Day in the Supreme Court Mr.Vinson Sets a Limit Facts Weighed Minutely." New York Times
(1923-Current File). June 6, 1950, http:/ / www. proquest. com/
[26] Klarman, Michael J., From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality (Oxford University Press
USA, 2004), http:/ / 0-lib. myilibrary. com. mercury. concordia. ca/ Browse/ open. asp?ID=56001& loc=19 (1 February 2010)
[27] White, Walter. "Decision in Plessy Case." New York Times (1923-Current File), March 10, 1954, http:/ / www. proquest. com/
[28] Darden, Gary Helm. 2009. "The New Empire in the 'New South': Jim Crow in the Global Frontier of High Imperialism and Decolonization."
Southern Quarterly 46, no. 3: 8–25. America: History & Life, EBSCOhost (accessed February 1, 2010).
[29] McWilliams, Wilson Carey. 1999. "ON ROGERS SMITH'S 'CIVIC IDEALS'." Studies in American Political Development 13, no. 1:
216–229. America: History & Life, EBSCOhost (accessed February 1, 2010).
[30] "Our Radical Activist Supreme Court?" The Economist, September 14, 2009, http:/ / www. economist. org/ blogs/ democracyinamerica/
2009/ 09/ our_radical_activist_supreme_c
[31] "A Celebration of Progress: Unveiling the long-awaited historical marker for the arrest site of Homer Plessy" (http:/ / www. nocca. com/
newsevents/ newsletter. php?newsletter_ID=188). .
[32] Eve Abrams (2009-02-12). "Plessy/Ferguson plaque dedicated" (http:/ / www. publicbroadcasting. net/ wwno/ news.
newsmain?action=article& ARTICLE_ID=1468970). .
5
Plessy v. Ferguson
Further reading
• Thomas, Brook (1997). Plessy v. Ferguson: A Brief History with Documents. Boston: Bedford Books.
ISBN 978-0-312-14997-0.
• Chin, Gabriel J. (1996). "The Plessy Myth: Justice Harlan and the Chinese Cases". Iowa Law Review 82: 151.
SSRN 1121505.
• Elliott, Mark (2006). Color-Blind Justice: Albion Tourgée and the Quest for Racial Equality from the Civil War
to Plessy v. Ferguson. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-518139-5.
• Fireside, Harvey (2004). Separate and Unequal: Homer Plessy and the Supreme Court Decision That Legalized
Racism. New York: Carroll & Graf. ISBN 0-7867-1293-7.
• Hoffer, Williamjames Hull. Plessy v. Ferguson: Race and Inequality in Jim Crow America (University Press of
Kansas; 2012) 219 pages
• Lofgren, Charles A. (1987). The Plessy Case: A Legal-Historical Interpretation. New York: Oxford University
Press. ISBN 978-0-19-505684-6.
• Medley, Keith Weldon (2003). We As Freemen: Plessy v. Ferguson. Gretna, LA: Pelican. ISBN 1-58980-120-2.
Review (http://www.bsos.umd.edu/gvpt/lpbr/subpages/reviews/Medley1003.htm)
• Tushnet, Mark (2008). I dissent: Great Opposing Opinions in Landmark Supreme Court Cases. Boston: Beacon
Press. pp. 69–80. ISBN 978-0-8070-0036-6.
External links
• Text of Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896) is available from: Justia (http://supreme.justia.com/us/163/
537/case.html) · Findlaw (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=CASE&court=US&
vol=163&page=537) · · LII (http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSC_CR_0163_0537_ZS.
html)
• Text of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954) is available from: Justia (http://supreme.
justia.com/us/347/483/case.html) · Findlaw (http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.
pl?navby=CASE&court=US&vol=347&page=483) · · LII (http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct-cgi/
get-us-cite?347+483)
• Case Brief for Plessy v. Ferguson (http://www.lawnix.com/cases/plessy-ferguson.html) at Lawnix.com
6
Article Sources and Contributors
Article Sources and Contributors
Plessy v. Ferguson Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=520777000 Contributors: -Midorihana-, 15turnsm, 2D, 5 albert square, A.R., ABF, Aaron Schulz, Aazn, Abeg92,
Abelian, Absecon 59, Acalamari, Acroterion, Adashiel, AdjustShift, Adrian, Ahoerstemeier, Ajt067, AlanK, Alansohn, Albacore, Ale jrb, Alexius08, Alf.laylah.wa.laylah, Ali K, AliMaghrebi,
Allisonmarieanne, Amatulic, Amcbride, AmiDaniel, Andrij Kursetsky, AngelOfSadness, Angelfalls06, Ann Stouter, Antandrus, Arcadie, Arda Xi, Arichnad, Arthena, Arthur Rubin, Aruton,
Audacity, Autiger, AutoGeek, Avant Guard, Avenged Eightfold, Avnjay, Avono, Az1568, B.Davis21, B00P, BD2412, Bart133, Beardo, Belles echo, Bender235, Bennetto, Bennybp, Bento00,
Betacommand, Bhadani, BigTanker, BillWSmithJr, Black Yoshi, Bleh999, Blethering Scot, Blimpie0513, BlueMoonlet, Blueanode, Bluezy, Blulightning, Blz43, Bobo192, Boing! said Zebedee,
Bolt Vanderhuge, Bongwarrior, Boothy443, Bradyodad44, Breckgordon, BrianGV, Bryan Derksen, Burner0718, BusterD, Bytenik, CALR, CBDunkerson, CPMcE, CWenger, Cadwaladr,
Caiaffa, Can't sleep, clown will eat me, Cannaya, Canuckian89, Capricorn42, Capt. James T. Kirk, Cbrown1023, Ccson, Cdogsimmons, Chavando, Chill doubt, Chris 73, Chris the speller,
Chrislk02, Cj1340, Ck lostsword, Clarince63, Clarke Kruze, Clem Holloman, Clemmy, Clemwang, Cloudtactics, Cokeney6543, Colin Marquardt, Computerjoe, Cpl Syx, Cretino, Cuchullain,
Curps, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, DMacks, DUBJAY04, DVdm, DaGizza, DabMachine, Dac04, Daddy163g, Dadofsam, Dakillster, Danski14, Darth Panda, Darwinek, Davewild, Davidjupp,
Davivalle, Db099221, Dbenbenn, DeadEyeArrow, DeansFA, Debresser, Defender of torch, Deltabeignet, Denisarona, DerHexer, DesiGamer2005, Devourer of Neubians, Dfrg.msc, Dgdavenport,
Diannaa, Diderot, Didup, Discospinster, Djmastaquik, Dmob443, Dominus, Donfbreed, Download, Dr.K., DrDoctor13, Draeco, Dravecky, Dreadstar, Dricherby, Drmies, Dweller, Dycedarg,
Dylan620, ESkog, Eaglizard, Earthmonkey14, Eastlaw, Ebelular, Ebyabe, Editore99, Eggman64, Eje211, El bucle, Elfalem, Emerson7, Endofskull, Epbr123, Eric-Wester, Erudy, Evercat,
Everyking, Evil saltine, Excirial, Exert, Eye.of.the.dragonfly, FF2010, Falcon8765, Famspear, Fastilysock, Favonian, Feinoha, Fenwayguy, Fetchcomms, FileMaster, Flamurai, Flightofpenguins,
Floaterfluss, Flooreast, Foofighter20x, Foresore1, FrancoGG, Frankenpuppy, Freedomlinux, Futurebird, GDonato, GOKUROCKS10000, Gail, GamesSmash, Gareth E Kegg, Ged424,
Gemini1980, Geni, Gensanders, Geologyguy, Gettingtoit, Gholam, Gilderien, Gilliam, Glacialfox, GoldRhymer, GregAsche, GregorB, Grenavitar, Ground Zero, Gtg1725, Gujuguy, Gurch,
Gwernol, H2eddsf3, Halbersma, Halmstad, HarryHenryGebel, Hbdragon88, Headbomb, Heavyweight Gamer, Hello32020, Hendrixjoseph, Hephaestos, Hertz1888, Hmains, Hnbe13, Holme053,
Husond, Hydriotaphia, Hydrogen Iodide, HyperCapitalist, I dream of horses, IW.HG, Idols of Mud, Ignitus, Infernal Reaper, Inferno, Lord of Penguins, Infrogmation, Insomnia64, Ipeterson,
Iridescent, Isis, Itai, Iwanaridasrtbus, Iwantitalllll, J.delanoy, J36miles, JDCMAN, JForget, JFreeman, JPMcGrath, JackofOz, Jakebarrington, Jakee1, JamesAM, JamesMLane, JayC, JayJasper,
Jdamonb, Jeffjet, Jengod, Jim1138, Jimmuldrow, Jk913, Jmcneill2, John Paul Parks, Johnleemk, Joonasl, Josh3580, Joshofstl, Jovianeye, Juddlawr, K8lj, KGasso, Kablammo, Kcordina,
Kirachinmoku, Kkailas, Klilidiplomus, KnightLago, KnowledgeOfSelf, Konstantin3307, Kristen Eriksen, Kubigula, Kungfuadam, Kwertii, Lady~Macbeth, Lateg, Laug, Laurinavicius,
Leafyplant, LeaveSleaves, Lee J Haywood, Legalskeptic, Levineps, Lightmouse, Lindaelane, Ling.Nut, Liveandlead, Lookatthis, Looktothis, Lovetheice05, Lowellian, Lugia2453, Luk, Luna
Santin, Lupin, M412k, MER-C, MFago, MJO, MZMcBride, Madwoodee, Magister Mathematicae, Mahendra, MajorStovall, Marek69, Mark Arsten, Markhurd, Martin451, Martinp23, MastCell,
Mateo SA, Mato, Matt Traywick, MattAeppel, Mav, Maxis ftw, Mbc362, Mblumber, Mediran, Mendez ana, Mermaid from the Baltic Sea, Michael Greiner, Michael Hardy, Mike1, Minesweeper,
Mitchumch, Mlouns, Mmmikay, Moneya, Monkeyman5943, Monty845, Moogwrench, Mrtrey99, Mwilso24, N5iln, Nakon, Naryathegreat, NawlinWiki, Needlenose, NellieBly, Neurolysis,
Neutrality, Nigelhenry, Nightkey, Nivix, Noah Peters, Noah Salzman, North Shoreman, NorwegianBlue, NotJoeBiden, Nsaa, Nydigoveth, O.Koslowski, OMGit'sJesus, Obewonkanobe, Oda
Mari, Off2riorob, Old Moonraker, OleMaster, OnePt618, Optichan, OverlordQ, Oxfordwang, Oxymoron83, PFHLai, PGPirate, PJtP, PM800, Pajz, Parthian Scribe, Paul August, Penubag,
Percival2436, Pertristis, Peter Karlsen, Petri Krohn, Phantomsteve, Pharaoh of the Wizards, PhilKnight, Philip Trueman, Phs.student, Piano non troppo, Pigby, Piledhigheranddeeper, Pilotguy,
PooMaster15, Poofyspikes, Populus, Postdlf, Prolog, Pzoxicuvybtnrm, Quadpus, QuiteUnusual, Quodfui, RA0808, Rajah9, Ral315, RamsinWarda, Rappaccini, Ravave, Rdsmith4, Reaper
Eternal, Rednblu, Reepnorp, RexNL, Rich Janis, RichPella, Richard David Ramsey, RickK, Ricky81682, Ringdan, Rjensen, Rlquall, Roadrunner, Rocknalle, Ronhjones, Royalguard11, RyJones,
SCEhardt, SDC, SMC, Sandstein, Saradonati, Savidan, Schumi555, Scotty795, Sean William, Seaphoto, Seb az86556, Seilidair, ShadowRangerRIT, Sheldrake, Shelliekretzschmar, Shirulashem,
Sietse Snel, Simesa, Sionus, Siroxo, Sisyphe, Sjfsldkfs, Skarebo, Skittlez10672, Skyler1534, Skywriter, Sladen, Slon02, Smb1138, SnapLaw, Snowolf, Some jerk on the Internet, Someone37,
Soulpatch, SpaceFlight89, Spadeprince, Specs112, Speedyd410, Spr411, Srmacrina, StaticGull, SteinbDJ, Stephan Schulz, StephenF, Stevenscollege, Stuttermullet1, Subsailor, Superbeecat,
SwedishConqueror, Swerdnaneb, THEN WHO WAS PHONE?, THF, TMC1982, TOttenville8, TYelliot, Tad Lincoln, Tariqabjotu, Tealwisp, Techman224, Tfine80, The Placebo Effect, The
Thing That Should Not Be, The sunder king, TheSwami, Theaveng, Thingg, Tiddly Tom, Tide rolls, Tim!, Tim1357, Timrem, Timrollpickering, Tiptoety, Tjb 1999, Tlim7882, Togepi3x3, Tom
Morris, Tom harrison, Tommy2010, Toytoy, Tphi, Trademark123, TransUtopian, Trentters, Trusilver, Twinkie eater91, Twir, Twooars, TyA, Tysen, Tyw7, UCLATre, UW, Uaktags, Uncle Dick,
Unclebanglin, Unschool, Utcursch, Velella, Vgranucci, Vickser, Victor9876, Vineet90, Volga2, Vrenator, WAvegetarian, Wavelength, Wayward, WendellPhillips, Weregerbil, West Brom 4ever,
White Shadows, White28, Wiki Raja, Wiki alf, Wikidudeman, Wikieditor1534, Willmcca, Woohookitty, Work permit, Wtmitchell, Wysprgr2005, Xo leading starr ox, Xompanthy, Y, Y0u, Yahel
Guhan, Yamamoto Ichiro, Yeslekxox, Yolo4all, Yukisealive, Z4r4thustr4, Zach99998, Zacreese, Zav, Zhaladshar, Zoe, Zsinj, 1987 anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
Image:Seal of the United States Supreme Court.svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Seal_of_the_United_States_Supreme_Court.svg License: Public Domain
Contributors: Ipankonin
File:Plessy marker.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Plessy_marker.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 3.0 Contributors: Skywriter
Image:upclosepvsfergfront.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Upclosepvsfergfront.JPG License: Public Domain Contributors: Bluemarie0428
Image:plessyfergusonphototwo.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Plessyfergusonphototwo.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Bluemarie0428
License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
//creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
7