Plessy V Ferguson

The main arguments that were made in the mock trial in Plessy V Ferguson was that Plessy in 1892 boarded a whites only cart in New Orleans, when he boarded he had to tell the conductor that he was ⅛ black. If he had not told him this he would have passed by looking just as white as everyone else on the train, and maybe more white then some. Where does one draw the line between White or Black at what percent do you become one or the other. For this particular example Plessy is 87.5% white. No one in America is 100 percent white because no country is without outside immigration and this immigration leads to the mixing of races and colors. The whites are trying all they can to hold onto a mindset that has been clearly outlawed by the fourteenth amendment.

As it states “No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States”. As well as “nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws”. There is no equal protection when States enforce laws that give the white man privileges that a black man cannot have. The 14th amendment was clearly put in place to exempt, people of all races from legal discrimination. To exempt them from living in a society that purposely puts them at risk and to stop people from looking at their role in society as inferior than others simply because they are being judged on their skin color alone and not the work ethic, and good deeds they put out into the world. The very separation is against the constitution in the first place, the key words are “equal protection”, and even more so “ No law shall abridge the privileges of citizens.” If one group has rights or privileges that another does not have simply because of race.

Another argument that was made was that if we are to have separate but equal and have it be based on what is considered black and white people then it should be based on skin color and percentage of black and white. Plessy is 87.5% white or 12.5% black, it is ridiculous to consider him as a black man because the overwhelming majority of his race is white. If we were to have a vote in court and the minority vote was the victor, it would make no sense, it follows no norms or logic of how we would decide something. Nobody in the United States is fully white and some of the white people on the train might’ve been less white than Mr. Plessy yet still be allowed to ride the train. Normally, someone is considered of a race if one of the two are true, they are visibly that race so for this example, he was dark skinned, or, if he was over 50% black and neither are true meaning that logically he should be allowed to ride on the white reserved seats. Also there is the problem of the other races, would we have to create a separate car for each and every race or ethnicity? How would we know which ethnicities and races people are if it’s more less noticeable like in Mr. Plessy’s case? Would we get blood tests for everyone before they come onto the train? It is impracticable to have separate cars for every race and since all should be equal, it would save lots of money and time to simply have everyone in the same car.

And finally a religious standpoint The bible and biblical world is multi ethnic and racial. Many different ethnic and racial groups, including blacks, were involved in God’s unfolding plan of redemption. All people are and were created in the image of God, and therefore all races and ethnic groups have the same status and equal unique value. Interracial or interethnic marriages are sanctioned by Scripture when they are within the faith. The gospel demands that we carry compassion and the message of Jesus Christ across ethnic and racial lines. The New Testament teaches that as Christians we are all unified together in Christ, regardless of our differing ethnicities or races. Furthermore, our main concept of self identity should not be our ethnicity, race, or colour, but our membership as part of the body and family of Christ. The picture of God’s people at the climax of history depicts a multiracial congregation from every tribe, language, people, race, and nation, all gathered together in worship around God’s throne. The Bible does not condone racism and there is no reason that we in our good Christian judgement should be separating people based on race, the separate but equal is not equal and it is there to keep the blacks away from the whites when in our sacred text, The Holy Bible, people of all races, ethnicities, and colours were all living together in harmony and I see no reason why we can’t do what God had planned for us to do all this time. Not to mention that the separate but equal isn’t even equal to begin with, if it was there would be no need to separate at all.