When the Louisiana legislature in 1890 passed the Separate Car Act, which mandated the racial segregation of railroad passengers, a group of black activists set out to challenge the law.

Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that established the legal doctrine of “separate but equal”. It was a ruling that enabled many states to enact racial segregation ...

During Reconstruction, the federal government expanded the vote to blacks in the South, and provided some equal protection to black citizens. As Reconstruction failed, however, white supremacists ...

Listen to the full series on BBC Sounds. The ruling in Plessy v Ferguson was the start of the ‘separate-but-equal’ principle. This led to more segregation on transportation, in entertainment ...

In the court case known as Plessy v Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court ruled that segregation of people based on race was legal, providing facilities were 'separate but equal'. These segregation ...