Graduate Level: Separate But Equal?

Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896

The decision to allow African American students to study in post-secondary programs at previously all-white universities in North Carolina rested on several Supreme Court cases which made it more difficult to deny entry to students based on their race but did not overturn the “separate but equal” doctrine espoused by Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. Although the Plessy case involved the public transportation system, the Supreme Court’s ruling was used to justify other forms of segregation, including separate (and typically unequal) colleges for white and black students. Plessy remained in force for nearly sixty years, but some African Americans were able to successfully appeal to the federal court system to gain access to traditionally white colleges across the segregated South. The administrators of the UNC Consolidated University system may not have welcomed African Americans but, when the Supreme Court ruled against them, the process of desegregation began.

Visit other Exhibits in Crossing the Color Line.