Question

5. What is the historical significance of Plessy vs. Ferguson? Why is Plessy vs. Ferguson

inherently racist and how could the highest court in the government sanction such action?

6. Imagine yourself a Supreme Court Justice on the court at the time of Plessy vs. Ferguson.
Write a 3-4 sentence dissent of the decision - basically explaining why you disagree with the
decision (incl. legal reasons).

7. How did white communities deprive blacks the right to vote and how did that impact
American society and specifically, black Americans?

8. How did Jim Crow laws
reinforce the racial caste system?

9. Closely analyze the artwork, "Evil #2", by Jennifer Scott (pg. 3). What does the piece say
about lynchings in America during the Jim Crow era? Why did the artist choose to silhouette
the lynched victims and not the onlooking crowds?

Answer 1

U.S. Supreme Court

Explanation: 5. Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation laws for public facilities as long as the segregated facilities were equal in quality – a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal".