The "colored only" car was not equal to the first-class ticket that he had purchased. Can we bring a species back from the brink?, Video Story, Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic Society, Copyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. The son, grandson, great-grandson, and great-great-grandson of Martha's Vineyard (Chimark & Tisbury) Master Mariners, John Howard Ferguson chose a different vocational path and taught school in his early years, finally setting about to study law. View John Adam Ferguson results in White Oak, NC including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. Judge John Howard Ferguson died in New Orleans at the age of 77 on November 12, 1915. The Supreme Courts infamous separate but equal ruling in 1896 stemmed from Homer Plessys pioneering act of civil disobedience. During oral arguments, Albion W. Tourge, Plessys attorney, told the court that the law was unconstitutional and that it flew in the face of the 14th Amendments equal protection clause. Florida followed suit in 1887; Mississippi in 1888; Texas in 1889; Plessys Louisiana in 1890; Arkansas, Tennessee (again) and Georgia in 1891; and Kentucky in 1892. Take it away without due process, based on a train conductors casual and arbitrary scan, and you rob a man, colored or white (at the time, especially white), of something as valuable to him as his education, income or land. Search BritannicaClick here to search BrowseDictionaryQuizzesMoneyVideo Subscribe Subscribe Login Entertainment & Pop Culture Meanwhile, a photographer, Phoebe Ferguson, got a phone call from a man who bought the home of Judge John Howard Ferguson, who presided over the Plessy v State of Louisiana case. Please enter your email and password to sign in. You need a Find a Grave account to continue. The committee chose a moment in history and a place in the citys economic landscape (the Press Street Railroad Yards) that would most effectively draw attention to their cause. Six-sevenths of the population are white. Phoebe Ferguson, great-great granddaughter of Judge John Howard Ferguson, who ruled against Plessy and upheld the law that made racial segregation on public transit in Louisiana a crime, was also . January 7, 2022 / 11:56 AM xx xxx 1999. The truth is that no one involved inPlessyknew they were on a longer march toBrown,or that their case would become one of the most recognizable in history, or that the sentence that the Supreme Court handed down would take up less than a sentence really, just three words in the American mind. After losing the case, Plessy took the case to the Louisiana State Supreme Court in 1893 and later the United States Supreme Court in 1896. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. The groundbreaking promise of cellular housekeeping. In doing so they laid the groundwork for much of the Civil Rights progress that we experience today. Becoming a Find a Grave member is fast, easy and FREE. Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson, two of the descendants of both participants of the Supreme Court case, announced the creation of the Plessy and Ferguson Foundation for Education, Preservation and Outreach. The Brown decision led to widespread public school desegregation and the eventual stripping away of Jim Crow laws that discriminated against Black Americans. The case was about an 1892 incident in which Homer Plessy, a thirty-year-old man of a mixed race, had purchased a first-class ticket on a train, but according to the Louisiana Separate Car Act Volume 1 Section Act 111, 1890, the conductor had to ask passengers in the first-class car their race. Only Justice John Marshall Harlan dissented. In contrast, social equality, which would manifest itself in the commingling of the races in public conveyances and elsewhere, would necessarily be the result of the natural affinities of the two races, their mutual appreciation of each others merits, and the voluntary consent of individuals. Such equality did not then exist and could not be legally created: Legislation is powerless to eradicate racial instincts or to abolish distinctions based upon physical differences, and the attempt to do so can only result in accentuating the difficulties of the present situation. Why not require all colored people to walk on one side of the street and the whites on the other? Can we bring a species back from the brink? All rights reserved. The 18-member citizens group to which Plessy belongs, the Comit des Citoyens of New Orleans (made up of civil libertarians, ex-Union soldiers, Republicans, writers, a former Louisiana lieutenant governor, a French Quarter jeweler and other professionals, according to Medley), has left little to chance. The Plessy & Ferguson Foundation states that the 1892 arrest of Homer Plessy was part of an organized effort by the Citizens Committee to challenge Louisiana's Separate Car Act. His case was heard in Louisiana by Judge John Howard Ferguson, who ruled against Plessy, setting off a chain . Associated Subjects: Since he refused to leave the first-class car, he was thrown off the train, had a night in jail before bond was paid, and with the financial and emotional support of news paper columnist Rudolphe Lucien Desdunes, former Union soldiers, writers and artist, along with some high-ranking politicians, he took his case to the court, where Ferguson was the preceding judge. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. But in practice, the equal facilities provided for Black citizens were usually inferior than the ones enjoyed by their white counterparts. But, most of all we remember the Citizens Committee whose members resided in the historic Trem community. It takes only 20 minutes for Homer Plessy to get bounced from his train, but another four years for him to receive a final decision from the United States Supreme Court. Inside the Orleans Parish criminal courthouse in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1892, Homer Plessy was charged for sitting in the Whites-only section of a train car. Ferguson was born the third and last child to baptist parents, John H. Ferguson & Sarah Davis Luce. 2 Act 111, 1890 of theLouisiana Separate Car Act, which, after requiring all railway companies [to] provide equal but separate accommodations for the white, and colored races in Sec. Name. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Continue with Recommended Cookies. (Why public swimming pools are still haunted by segregations legacy.). The charge: Viol. Plessy appealed to the Louisiana Supreme Court, which held-up the previous decision. Plessys act of civil disobedience followed a careful script and took place with the approval of the railroad company, which opposed the law because it would have required the purchase of additional cars to accommodate Black passengers. While today we might call proponents of those theories quacks, they were regarded (for the most part) as leading scientists of their day men with college degrees and titles who, even in those rare cases when they were sympathetic to black people and their rights, felt strongly that mixing too closely with whites would lead either to black extinction through a race war or dilution by way of absorption. Please reset your password. Nothing about Plessy stands out in the whites only car. You have chosen this person to be their own family member. Department of Archives and Special Collections, Teachers' Domain Civil Rights Special Collection. Accordingly, if the wronged party be a white man assigned to a colored coach, Brown wrote, he may have his action for damages against the company for being deprived of his so called property. After a night in jail, Plessy appeared in criminal court before Judge John Howard Ferguson to answer charges of violating the Separate Car Act. On this special day, we remember Plessy, a shoemaker who was arrested on June 7, 1892, at the corner of Press and Royal streets in New Orleans. [1], Judge Ferguson had previously ruled the Louisiana Railway Car Act of 1890 (The Separate Car Act), a law declaring that Louisiana rail companies had to provide separate but equal accommodations for white and non-white passengers, "unconstitutional on trains that travelled through several states". John Ferguson was born on 11/12/1965 and is 56 years old. Ferguson served in the Louisiana Legislature and practiced law in New Orleans until he was tapped in 1892 for a judgeship at the criminal district court, Section A, for the Parish of New Orleans, Louisiana. Appearances by Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson, Tulane University professor Lawrence N. Powell, professor Raphael Cassimere, and historian and author Keith W. Medley took place as scheduled. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. 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This website is no longer actively maintained, Some material and features may be unavailable, Major corporate support for The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross is provided by, The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross is a film by. The Committee's use of civil disobedience and the court system foreshadowed the Civil Rights struggles of the 20th century. Plessy pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay a fine. Five months later, on Nov. 18, 1892, Orleans Parish criminal court Judge John Howard Ferguson, a "carpetbagger" descending from a Martha's Vineyard shipping family, became the "Ferguson" in the. Civil rights leaders continued to mount legal challenges to the separate but equal doctrine. Alter Names. In fact, every detail of Plessys arrest has been plotted in advance with input from one of the most famous white crusaders for black rights in the Jim Crow era: Civil War veteran, lawyer, Reconstruction judge and best-selling novelist Albion Winegar Tourge, of late a columnist for the Chicago Inter-Oceanwho will oversee Plessys case from his Mayville, N.Y., home, which Tourge calls Thorheim, or Fools House, after his popular novel,A Fools Errand(1879). On November 18, 1892, Judge John Howard Ferguson ruled against Plessy. Justice Henry Billings Brown wrote in the 7-1 decision: Legislation is powerless to eradicate racial instincts or to abolish distinctions based upon physical differences.. I thought you might like to see a memorial for John Howard Ferguson I found on Findagrave.com. Although the United States Supreme Court ruled against Plessy in 1896, their arguments produced Justice John Marshall Harlan's "Great Dissent". One of Earth's loneliest volcanoes holds an extraordinary secret. John Howard Ferguson (June 10, 1838 November 12, 1915) was an American lawyer and judge from Louisiana, most famous as the defendant in the Plessy v. Ferguson case. Other recent efforts have acknowledged Plessys role in history, including a 2018 vote by the New Orleans City Council to rename a section of the street where he tried to board the train in his honor. Our Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens, Harlan had reminded the Plessy majority(ironically using the same inkwell the late Chief Justice Roger Taney had used in penning the infamousDred Scottdecision of 1857, at least according to legend). Judge Ferguson had previously ruled the Louisiana Railway Car Act of 1890 (The Separate Car Act), a law declaring that Louisiana rail companies had to provide separate but equal accommodations for white and non-white p*engers, "uncons*utional on trains that travelled through several states". A mans world? Also, in between, all the main players in the case died: Walker in 1898, Tourge in France in 1905, Ferguson in 1915, Martinet in 1917 and Homer Plessy in 1925 (in case youre wondering, a few months after the Supreme Courts ruling, Plessy pled guilty to defying the Louisiana Separate Cars Act and paid his $25 fine). Ferguson was born the third and last child to Baptist parents (John H. Ferguson & Sarah Davis Luce) on June 10, 1838 in Chilmark, M*achusetts. Why may it [the state] not require all red-headed people to ride in a separate car? As manager of this memorial you can add or update the memorial using the Edit button below. Eco-friendly burial alternatives, explained. The Plessy & Ferguson Foundation states that the 1892 arrest of Homer Plessy was part of an organized effort by the Citizens Committee to challenge Louisiana's Separate Car Act. Every detail of Plessys case was strategically planned by the Committee. Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below. As they expressed inPlessys brief: How much would it beworthto a young man entering upon the practice of law, to be regarded as awhiteman rather than a colored one? Ferguson was born the third and last child to Baptist parents (John H. Ferguson & Sarah Davis Luce) on June 10, 1838 in Chilmark, Massachusetts. There he presided over the case Homer Adolph Plessy v. The State of Louisiana. (For similar reasons, some of those tracking thetwo affirmative action casespending before the current Supreme Court are concerned that those cases may get drowned by more pressing headlines.) For most,Plessy v. Fergusononly acquired its notoriety years later as a result of theBrownschool desegregation cases and of future lawyers like Charles Hamilton Houston and Thurgood Marshall, who found inspiration for their strides against Jim Crow segregation inPlessys lone dissent by Justice John Marshall Harlan of all the justices a Southerner and a former slave holder. Of course discerning minds like Tourge saw through such theories, but, as Lofgren illustrates in a table summarizing a 1960 study by historian of anthropology George W. Stocking Jr., among 50 social scientists publishing journal articles in the years leading up toPlessy, 94 percent believed in the existence of a racial hierarchy and in differences between the mental traits (intelligence, temperament, etc.) Ferguson, John H. (Judge)--Trials, litigation, etc. That same year, both his son Walter Judson Ferguson in the month of June, and his wife, Virginia Butler Earhart Ferguson, in the month of September, pre-deceased him. Because it presupposedand was universally understood to presupposethe inferiority of African Americans, the act imposed a badge of servitude upon them in violation of the Thirteenth Amendment, according to Harlan. Though pardoning Homer Plessy wont reverse the harm caused by the separate but equal doctrine, advocates say it is a long-overdue correction to a historical wrong. He was charged with violating the (1890) Separate Car Act of Louisiana, which mandated separate accommodations for black and white railroad passengers. Family members linked to this person will appear here. The new year once started in Marchhere's why, Jimmy Carter on the greatest challenges of the 21st century, This ancient Greek warship ruled the Mediterranean, How cosmic rays helped find a tunnel in Egypt's Great Pyramid, Who first rode horses? Segregations effects can be seen in lingering social disparities that range from housing and education to health and wealth for Black Americans. Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager. Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person. Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print. (Aut*d & Extensively Researched by John H. Ferguson IV, Great, Great Grandson). The house still stands today and is designated a historical landmark of the 1989 Orleans Parish Landmarks Commission. On February 12, 2009, they partnered with the Crescent City Peace Alliance and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts in placing a historical marker at the corner of Press Street and Royal Street, the site of Homer Plessy's arrest in New Orleans in 1892.[3]. In some cases, they may conflict with strongly held cultural values, beliefs or restrictions. "And I think by fourth grade we had learned something about it. Plessy then appealed the case to the Louisiana Supreme Court, which affirmed the decision that the Louisiana law was constitutional. Record information. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11894037/john-howard-ferguson. "A little emotional for me, I think," said Dillingham. Ferguson upheld the law. or don't show this againI am good at figuring things out. Try again later. This browser does not support getting your location. Plessy's case went to trial a month after his arrest andTourgee argued that Plessy's civil rights under the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution had been violated. He lived the rest of life as a convicted criminal. Dignitaries and descendants of both Plessy and John Howard Ferguson, the Louisiana judge who initially upheld the state's segregation law, advocated for the pardon. Upon finishing his study, he relocated to New Orleans. These materials may be graphic or reflect biases. An Oklahoma City man drinks at a water cooler marked "colored only" in 1939. / CBS News. He was simply deprived of the liberty of doing as he pleased.. First published on January 7, 2022 / 11:56 AM. Failed to report flower. Old cells hang around as we age, doing damage to the body. The presiding judge of the Orleans Parish criminal court told Begnaud that she plans to dedicate her courtroom's Section A to Homer Plessy and call it the Homer Plessy Courtroom. The case, which bore the name Plessy vs Ferguson, upheld that the Louisiana Separate Car Act was not in violation of neither the 13th Amendment nor the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. John Howard Ferguson was a lawyer and judge from Louisiana, most famous as the defendant in the Plessy v. Ferguson case. A National Geographic team has made the first ascent of the remote Mount Michael, looking for a lava lake in the volcanos crater. Kathleen Blanco, the Louisiana House of Representatives, and the New Orleans City Council. Learn about how to make the most of a memorial. The son, grandson . In his lone dissenting opinion, which would become a classic of American civil rights jurisprudence, Associate Justice John Marshall Harlan insisted that the court had ignored the obvious purpose of the Separate Car Act, which was. "While this pardon has been a long time coming, we can all acknowledge this is a day that should have never had to happen," Edwards said at the signing ceremony. Relatives of Plessy and John Howard Ferguson, the judge who oversaw his case in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, became friends decades later and formed a nonprofit that advocates for civil . There was an error deleting this problem. There are no volunteers for this cemetery. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. Use the links under See more to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc. Add to your scrapbook. Critically important to the legal team is Plessys color that he has seven eighths Caucasian and one eighth African blood, as Supreme Court Justice Henry Billings Brownwill write in his majority opinion, an observation that refers to the uniquely American one drop rule that a person with any African blood, no matter how little, is considered to be black.
