Plessy v Ferguson
/ˌplesi vɜːsəs ˈfɜːɡəsən/, /ˌplesi viː ˈfɜːɡəsən/
/ˌplesi vɜːrsəs ˈfɜːrɡəsən/, /ˌplesi viː ˈfɜːrɡəsən/
- a court case in 1896 which was decided by the US Supreme Court. It stated that segregation on trains was legal if black and white people received equal services. Southern states soon also used this idea of separate but equal in schools, public buildings, etc. The ruling (= decision) was replaced in 1954 by the Supreme Court's decision in the case of Brown v Board of Education of Topeka, which stated that segregation in schools was illegal.