Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) endorsed racial segregation under the separate-but-equal doctrine.

Evidence

Before Brown, the Supreme Court’s record on racial injustice was best exemplified by the infamous Dred Scott case and by Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), in which the Court upheld racial segregation under the doctrine of “separate but equal.” — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 2937

Categorization

• DEFINE: Names the canon ‘separate but equal’ doctrine and pinpoints its source case and year.
• XREF: Baseline against which Brown’s reversal of precedent should be measured in later chapters.