Homer Plessy was a light-skinned black man who was arrested for sitting in a white car of the East Louisiana Railroad. Because of the Separate Car Act passed in Louisiana, for Homer to sit with white people in the railroad car was a violation. After he was arrested during this incident in 1892, a black civil rights organization thought this unjust and brought his arrest to attention that eventually reached the Supreme Court. They argued that it contradicted the fourteenth and fifteenth amendment in the constitution. Still, the case was determined constitutional, thus founding the doctrine, "separate but equal," which applied to most cases in which segregation took place.

The Blues was born shortly before 1900. It was popular among poor black workers and sang words of hardships and difficult experiences. By the First World War, blues became part of black musical culture, while many men and women singers kept it alive. It was later discovered by other American and European singers.

Ida B. Wells was a black women who started a protest and crusade against lynching in March of 1892. Three of her friends had been murdered by a Memphis mob. Tom Moss was one of the victims and was arrested for defending themselves from what they thought were normal criminals, but were sheriff deputies. Eventually, Moss was shot to death. Ida investigated the reasons into which black people were lynched and was surprised about the injustices she discovered. Wells was forced to stay in the north, but continued her crusade against lynching reaching national attention.

Booker T. Washington was a black man who came to Tuskegee, Alabama with high hopes and goals of building and teaching a well established school. When Washington arrived at his work space, an a run-down building, he had to work hard to mold it into a descent learning environment. The school opened in 1881 with only 30 students. More students started attending and slowly, Washington had enough funding and support to start making improvements. He taught religion, self-hygiene, morals etc. Eventually, the school became very successful and is still a university today.