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What Spring 2020 Has in Common with Plessy v. Ferguson

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After the last few days of the pandemic, who remembers what Punxsutawney Phil predicted about Spring. The calendar says Spring started March 19 which is the earliest vernal equinox since 1896 , and what a year that was for Black Americans.

“Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens,” Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan stated.

Harlan was the only Justice who espoused that philosophy in May 1896 when the highest court in the land reached a decision with far-reaching and devastating implications for Black Americans. With Plessy v. Ferguson, the Supreme Court gave its approval to ‘separate but equal’ public facilities for different racial groups. The historical narrative mobilized by Reconstruction crashed headlong into a stubborn wall of opposition fueled by Southern angry and a backlash to advances made by the formerly enslaved.

Justice Harlan added, “In my opinion, the judgment this day rendered will, in time, prove to be quite as pernicious as the decision made by this tribunal in the Dred Scott Case” (referencing the controversial 1852 decision about slavery).

History of Plessy v. Ferguson

The Plessy case began in 1892 in Louisiana which had a “Separate Car Act”. Railroads operating in Louisiana were required to have ‘equal but separate’ accommodations for Black and white passengers, and passengers were not allowed to enter any other space than the one to which they were assigned based on race. A group of Creole professionals in New Orleans decided to challenge the law and formed The Citizens Committee to Test the Constitutionality of the Separate Car Act.

Homer Plessy

They chose Homer Plessy as the test case. Plessy was seven-eighths white and one-eighth Black. Plessy purchased a ticket for travel within the state of Louisiana and took a seat in the white accommodations. He was arrested and charged with violating the Separate Car Act.

Plessy v. Ferguson became the standard for all discrimination cases. And, it was the law of the land until 1954. Ironically, the railroad played a pivotal role in a case that changed the course of history, again, for Black America.

Two Sisters, One Supreme Court Case

Linda Brown and her little sister lived in Topeka, Kansas in the 1950s. Each morning they walked through a railroad switchyard to reach the bus stop for a ride to their all-Black school. There was a white school much closer to their home, but they were not allowed to attend it. The Brown family decided to sue.

The Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka that state laws establishing ‘separate but equal’ in public places were unconstitutional.

Chief Justice Earl Warren wrote, “We conclude that the doctrine of ‘separate but equal’ has no place. Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” The law that had been on the books since Spring 1896 no longer stood in America. It was then the fight began to convert law into everyday life.

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Trump Signs Executive Orders That Will Impact HBCUs and Black Schoolchildren

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and establish a White House Initiative on HBCUs to “deliver high-quality education to a growing number of students.”

According to the White House, the Initiative will help develop private-sector partnerships, institutional development and workforce preparation in technology, health care, manufacturing and finance. 

The president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Dr. Harry L. Williams said, “Today’s executive order serves as strong reaffirmation of President Trump’s support of investment of historically Black colleges and universities. This executive order should serve as a call-to-action for corporations, foundations, members of Congress and state lawmakers to redouble their efforts to support HBCUs and their students. TMCF looks forward to continued engagement with the administration and Congress to deliver results for HBCUs and the students they serve via appropriations and other legislative actions.”

On the same day, Trump signed another executive order that removes safeguards for African American schoolchildren by eliminating an Obama-era initiative to protect Black schoolchildren from excessive disciplinary action.

During the Obama administration, the first Black president’s administration created guidelines that sought to prevent school discipline from having a disproportionate effect on minority students. Trump revoked the civil rights initiative during his first term and Biden did not formally restore it. 

At his signing today, Trump said his decision was especially important to the current Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who held the signed order.

“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, schools were forced to consider equity and inclusion when imposing discipline,” McMahon said in a statement. “Their policies placed racial equity quotas over student safety – encouraging schools to turn a blind eye to poor or violent behavior in the name of inclusion.”

She added, “Disciplinary decisions should be based solely on students’ behavior and actions.

Studies show that Black students are punished more often than their white counterparts.

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President Jimmy Carter Appointed the First Black Woman to Lead a Federal Agency

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President Jimmy Carter advanced opportunities for African Americans throughout his life,
advocating for justice and peace consistent with the Christian values he embraced. Since his
death on December 29 at age 100, Mr. Carter’s praises have been sung from his home state of
Georgia to points around the globe. And while the former president’s one-term in the White
House is dismissed by some political pundits for a lack of policies or accomplishments that
changed the course of history, his character and integrity set him apart.


Carter became the first president to appoint a Black woman head of a federal agency. He chose
Patricia Roberts Harris to lead the Housing and Urban Development when he took office in
1977.


Harris said, “I feel deeply proud and grateful this President chose me to knock down this barrier, but also a little sad about being the ‘first Negro woman,’ because it implies we were not
considered before.”


Senator William Proxmire questioned Carter’s choice, saying Harris came from too much wealth and influence to be an effective leader. But Carter stood by his decision, and Harris stayed in the position for two years.


The 39th president’s name is also included on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.


Civil rights activist, Rev. Al Sharpton recalled a conversation he shared with Carter.


“It was very significant, I was talking there at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, and I was talking to President Clinton and President Carter,” Sharpton recalled. “And when Clinton and I finished talking, President Carter touched me on my arm and said, ‘How are you doing with your ministry, Al? I see you out there with your activism. Don’t leave your ministry … keep your prayer life going.’ And you could tell he sincerely meant it. He was not one who talked about his religion as a political kind of something you could say to voters.”


President Joe Biden declared January 9, 2025, a national day of mourning. Millions watched the former president’s funeral on television as he was remembered as a man of honesty,
compassion and faith – which included championing the rights of Americans who knew firsthand the struggle of injustice

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The Congressional Black Caucus Prepares for “Important” Work

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The Congressional Black Caucus started the 119th Congress with its largest membership. There were 62 members sworn in today.

“On behalf of the entire Congressional Black Caucus, congratulations to the members of the Executive Committee of the 119th Congress. 53 years after our Caucus’ founding, our work to improve the lives and conditions of Black people in America is more important than ever before,” said CBC President Steven Horsford.

Photo Credit: Ron Busby, U.S. Black Chambers Inc.

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