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Plessy v. Ferguson
Homer A. Plessy was the plaintiff and John H. Ferguson was the defendant. Plessy was 7/8ths white and was arrested for sitting in the white train car. The outcome upheld state Jim Crow Laws. The Supreme Court voted 7-1 against Plessy. -
Giles v. Harris
Giles was the plaintiff and Harris was the defendant. Alabama refused to order the board of registrars to register an African American to vote. The Supreme Court upheld a state constitution's requirements for voter registration and qualifications. -
Buchanan v. Warley
Buchanan was the plaintiff and Warley was the defendant. Louisville had an ordinance that prohibited blacks from living on a block where the majority of residents were white. Since 8 of 10 houses were occupied by whites, Warley was not allowed to live on the block. The Supreme Court held residential racial segregation unconstitutional. -
Smith v. Allwright
Smith was the Plaintiff and Allwright was the Defendant. Democrats blocked African Americans from participating in Democrat primaries. The Supreme Court overturned the Democratic Party’s use of all-white primaries in Texas and other states. -
Morgan v. Virginia
Morgan is the Plaintiff and Virginia is the Defendant. Virginia law had races be separated in all intrastate and interstate travel. The Supreme Court found this unconstitutional. -
Shelley v. Kraemer
Shelley is the Plaintiff and Kraemer is the Defendant. Courts could not enforce racially restrictive covenants on real estate that prevented “people of Negro or Mongolian race” from buying or living in certain neighborhoods. The Supreme Court declared it was unconstitutional. -
Perez v. Sharp
Perez is the Plaintiff and Sharp is the Defendant. The first case in which a court invalidated a ban on interracial marriage. The Supreme Court ruled that the state's ban on interracial marriage violated the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. -
Brown v. Board
Brown was the Plaintiff and the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas was the defendant. Mr. Brown wanted his daughter to go to an all white school that was closer to his house instead of his daughter going across town to the all black school. The Supreme Court ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional. -
Monroe v. Pape
Monroe is the Plaintiff and Pape is the Defendant. This case revitalized Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, by allowing individuals to sue government actors for violations of civil rights. -
Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections
Harper is the Plaintiff and the Virginia Board of Elections is the Defendant. The Supreme Court found Virginia’s poll tax unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, making poll taxes illegal for state and federal elections