Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
The ruling in this Supreme Court case upheld a Louisiana state law that allowed for "equal but separate accommodations for the white and colored races." from Our Documents project
Berea College v. Kentucky (1908)
Can a private college in Kentucky accept both white and black students? The state of Kentucky said "No", and the Supreme Court upheld that law. In this decision, the Supreme Court upheld a Kentucky law entitled "An Act to Prohibit White and Colored Persons from Attending the Same School". Although Plessy v Ferguson gets most of the attention, this case also serves well to give students a better appreciation of the nature of discrimination before the modern Civil Rights movement.