March 26, 1883 | Newspaper
The plight of middle- and upper-class African Americans on Georgia railways and in public accommodations is briefly addressed in this report from Savannah, Georgia.
December 24, 1887 | Newspaper
The case of Rev. William Heard versus the Georgia Railroad Company is heard before the Interstate Commerce Commission.
1890 | Law
The Louisiana Railway Accommodations Act mandates "equal but separate" rail travel in the state.
October 4, 1890 | Broadsides
In this October 4, 1890 broadside, the Union Pacific Railroad offers a $200 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individuals who attempted to derail a train.
September 3, 1891 | Newspaper
A reponse from the Southern Pacific following an Interstate Commerce Commission ruling that African Americans making trips crossing state lines could not be ejected from first-class cars.
1893 | Book
Ida B. Wells, Frederick Douglass, Irvine Garland Penn, Ferdinand L. Barnett, and Frederick Loudin published The Reason Why in response to the exclusion of Afircan Americans and their contributions to American life from the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The excerpt included here is part of Wells' contribution and includes the Tennessee separate coach law.
April 5, 1893 | Newspaper
The decision for Maime Caldwell in her case against the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad Company for discrimination is briefly recounted, noting the final award of $800.
October 30, 1893 | Newspaper
The Anti-Separate Coach Committee of Kentucky begins to lobby against the Jim Crow laws recently passed by the state legislature.
August 21, 1895 | Broadsides
In this 1895 broadside, the Pacific Express Company offers a $500 reward for the arrest and conviction of those who robbed Union Pacific train Number 8 on August 21.
May 18, 1896 | Legal decision
These excerpts from the Supreme Court's Plessy v Ferguson decision outline primary points of the seven-man decision that asserted the constitutionality of "separate but equal" facilities.
May 18, 1896 | Legal decision
These excerpts from Justice John Harlan's dissent from the Supreme Court's Plessy v Ferguson decision include scathing counter-arguments to the majority decision that asserted the legality of "separate but equal" facilities.