Louisiana Separate Car Act 1890: Segregation by Law

Louisiana enacted the Separate Car Act on July 10, 1890, requiring racial segregation on all railroads in the state. The New Orleans Comité des Citoyens — a Creole civil rights organization — immediately organized a legal challenge. Homer Plessy, chosen because his light complexion would highlight the arbitrary nature of racial classification, was arrested in a planned test on June 7, 1892. The resulting Plessy v. Ferguson decision entrenched Jim Crow nationwide.