The document provides background information on the U.S. Supreme Court case Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. It describes that Homer Plessy, who was of mixed race, was arrested for refusing to leave a whites-only train car as required by a new Louisiana law mandating racial segregation on railroads. Plessy filed suit arguing the law violated the 13th and 14th Amendments. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled 7-1 against Plessy, establishing the "separate but equal" doctrine that allowed racial segregation if facilities were equal in quality for both races.