Separate But Equal Flashcards, test questions and answers

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What is Separate But Equal?

Separate but Equal is a legal doctrine in which racial segregation was viewed as being acceptable as long as the facilities and services provided to each group were of equal quality. This doctrine was first established in 1896 by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, which upheld state laws that required racial segregation in public transportation facilities, such as trains and buses. Although this ruling was later overturned by Brown v Board of Education in 1954, it continued to have a lasting impact on civil rights law and race relations in the United States for decades to come. The idea of separate but equal originated from a concept known as separate spheres which had been used since the 19th century to justify unequal treatment for women and minorities. The separate spheres philosophy argued that different sexes or races should occupy their own distinct social spaces due to their natural differences and that these spaces should be kept apart from one another so as not to interfere with the rights or opportunities of others. The result was that certain groups were denied access or made to pay more than their counterparts for services such as education, housing, employment, etc., even though they were supposed to be treated equally under the law. Despite its good intentions, Separate But Equal policies further enforced existing inequalities between races by providing inferior resources and opportunities to people of color while white people had access to better resources at lower costs. These policies also reinforced centuries-old stereotypes about who deserved what rights and privileges based on skin color alone. Furthermore, these policies enabled racism to persist throughout American history by creating two separate societies; one with more power and privilege than the other which perpetuated an unjust system based on inequality rather than true equality. Separate But Equal has since been abolished due largely in part thanks to Brown v Board of Education (1954) wherein it was deemed unconstitutional for states or localities segregate children according school attendance zones solely based on race thus bringing an end to segregated schooling across America altogether although many argue that de facto segregation continues today albeit disguised differently than it did during Jim Crow laws era before 1954 when racial discrimination against African Americans became outlawed nationwide too. In any case though Separate But Equal will always remain an important reminder about how far we have come since then but also how far we still need go before achieving true equality amongst all people regardless background or ethnicity alike.