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The purpose of this discussion is to express your understanding of the famous Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson and how it affected the African American community.

Instructions

For this discussion,  review your readings for Unit 4 and read the following scenario carefully. Feel free to do research outside the course if you’d like other points of view.

It’s the year 1900, and you are a 40-year-old African American citizen born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana.  You purchase a first-class ticket for a railway ride to Baton Rouge.  You find your seat in the first-class area as the train prepares to depart.  A conductor asks you to produce your ticket.  You hand him the ticket and wait.  After reviewing your ticket, the conductor informs you that as an African American, you must sit in the second-class area only, based on the Railway Separation Act and Plessy v. Ferguson.

How would you respond to the conductor’s actions? Try to put yourself in the shoes of someone in the past — think about what their life was like, what their behavior and outlook might be. Try to justify your response by describing that life and outlook.