In class, we held the Plessy versus Ferguson debate where slavery exploded into all-out civil war in 1861. I was on Plessy's side and argued he should be shown as not guilty.
Homer Plessy was an American shoemaker and activist, best known as the plaintiff in the United States Supreme Court decision of Plessy versus Ferguson. He was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was a mixed-race man who boarded a train in the "whites only section" in Louisiana where it was against the law. He was arrested, went to court, and Ferguson argued that this was against the Constitution and Louisiana’s separate but equal accommodations for blacks and whites. At the time, there were many who agreed with Ferguson and argued that Plessy was guilty as he intentionally violated Louisiana law.
No Internet, this is not Homer Plessy. But who is it?
Firstly, Plessy was half black and half white so therefore, why was he seen as a black man and not a white man? There was no specific law for mixed races, even the Louisiana law at the time did not apply to a mixed-race person. This implies that he should have never been arrested because the law did not apply to him. Secondly, Louisiana law implied blacks were inferior giving states the power to make laws that regulate a person’s health, safety, and morals. The Louisiana law gave police the power to determine if the law should be applied in whichever situation they think applies. Why does a state like Louisiana have the right to interpret the Constitution as they want if it is a federal law? Therefore, Louisiana or any other state should not give the right to interpret the Constitution as they like. Thirdly, the Constitution is color blind and does not recognize or distinguish social classes, so the Louisiana Law of “separate but equal” was unconstitutional.
These were the reasons to support the question on why Homer Plessy is not guilty. 
How Homer Plessy and Fellow Creole Activists Challenged Race Itself
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