A Century of Segregation

in 1883, when the United States Supreme Court

1881 - 1900

The Civil Rights Act was declared unconstitutional

ruled that segregation and discrimination in public spaces violated the Constitution.

Plessy v. Ferguson

was a historic case in which an African American man, Homer Plessy, sued after

he was arrested for deliberately sitting in the whites only section of a train car. Plessy was protesting his state's passing of The Separate Car Act, which deemed segregation in trains legal.

Williams v. Mississippi

was a case that was held to set voter requirements in Mississippi. Elections were

often violent as whites tried to prevent African Americans from voting. So, a compromise declared that only literate citizens could vote. But this compromise was clearly biased because few African Americans at that time could read.

Blues music

originated in the African American community in the early 20th century, and took inspiration

from African rhythms and spirituals.