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required separate railroad cars for blacks and whites. A man named Plessy had been   ij '

prosecuted when he refused to give up his seat to a white man.

And what about the constitution, is mandate to give all citizens the equal

protection of the laws? Justice Brown said any perception of inequality was merely

in the minds of black citizens:

Justice Harlan wrote a famous dissent, denouncing A® Plessy decision for

maintaining racial separation and hatred:

"Our Constitution is color blind, and neither knows nor
tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights,,
all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the
peer of the most powerful. The law regards man as man,
and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color
when Ms civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of
the land are involved. In my opinion the judgment this day
rendered will in time prove to be quite as pernicious as the
decision made by this tribunal in the Dred Scott case. The
destinies of the two races in this country are insolubly
linked together and the interests of both require that the

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Right, Human Rights and Civil Rights

March 12, 2001                          49