Question

Who was Plessy and what did he want the Court to do?

Answer 1

As defined under Louisiana law at the time, railroads operating in-state were required to separate accommodations between whites and blacks.

Homer Plessy was convinced by a group dedicated to repealing the law to test it out by boarding a whites-only rail car. He was defined under Louisiana law as a colored individual despite his mostly caucasian background and was found in violation.

In short, he argued that the state law violated his Constitutional rights and wanted the law repealed. It eventually went up to the US Supreme Court which ultimately voted in favor of upholding the state of Louisiana by an overwhelming majority in 1896.

This would pave the way to further legitimize future acts of segregation through similar laws by other states under the doctrine of "separate but equal".