Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case in 1896 that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine. The case centered around Homer Plessy, a man of mixed race who was arrested for refusing to leave a whites-only railroad car in Louisiana.

The Supreme Court's ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson effectively legalized racial segregation in public facilities and institutions, allowing for the establishment of Jim Crow laws that enforced segregation in schools, transportation, housing, and other aspects of public life. The decision had a devastating impact on Black Americans, institutionalizing discrimination and perpetuating racial inequality for decades to come.

It wasn't until the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 that the "separate but equal" doctrine was struck down, leading to the desegregation of public schools and paving the way for the Civil Rights Movement that sought to dismantle segregation and fight for equal rights for all.