We as Freemen; Plessy v. Ferguson. The fight against legal segregation

Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing Company, 2003. First Edition. Octavo. 22cm. Publihser's slate grey rexine covered boards titled in gilt to spine. Dustjacket. 252pp. Some very light superficial soiling in places, internally clean, a near fine copy in dustjacket. Signed by the author to the title page.

The landmark 1896 legal case that examined the legality of segregation, but ultimately upheld it under the "seperate but equal" doctrine suggesting that segregation was legal in situations where the segregated facilities were of an equal standard. Justice Harlan claimed the case result to be unconstitutional, as the constitution was intended to be "color blind" rather than partisan. Although the majority legality was sustained, the questioning nature of the case and the division implicit in its result was enough to start the first trickles of an avalanche. The judgement was finally overturned in 1954 with Brown v. The Board of Education. Homer Plessy himself was 1/8th African American, 7/8ths Caucasian, but under law could only be represented as a person of color, he was arrested in 1892 for refusing to leave a Whites Only train car in Louisiana. (Inventory #: 82834)