Final answer:
In 1896, the Supreme Court, through Plessy v. Ferguson, endorsed racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine, as long as equal accommodations were provided. This principle was later overturned by the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling.
Step-by-step explanation:
In 1896, the Supreme Court endorsed the view that racial segregation did not constitute discrimination if equal accommodation were provided for the members of both races. This legal precedent was established in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson.
The ruling held that as long as the separate facilities for blacks and whites were equal in quality, segregation did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. This doctrine of "separate but equal" validated de jure segregation and legitimized the Jim Crow laws, perpetuating a system where racial segregation was enforced in schools, public transportation, restrooms, and other public facilities.
However, this precedent was later overturned by the landmark 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, which declared that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal, thus violating the Equal Protection Clause and ending legally sanctioned racial segregation in public schools.