What doctrine did Plessy v. Ferguson establish, and how did Brown v. Board of Education challenge it?

• A. Separate but equal was assumed constitutional; Brown v. Board ruled school segregation unconstitutional and overturned Plessy in education.
• B. Segregation was illegal in all public facilities; Brown v. Board confirmed this in education.
• C. The federal government should fund desegregation; Brown v. Board mandated funding.
• D. The Constitution required immediate abolition of all segregation; Brown v. Board delayed enforcement.

Answer: (A)

The question tests how the Supreme Court treated racial segregation and how that treatment changed in education. Plessy v. Ferguson established the doctrine of “separate but equal,” meaning states could require racial segregation as long as the separate facilities were deemed equal in quality. Brown v. Board of Education challenged that justification by focusing on public schools, arguing that segregation itself creates an inherently unequal educational environment and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The Court ruled that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal and therefore unconstitutional, effectively overturning the Plessy standard in the realm of education. This did not blanket all public facilities at once, but it set a new legal standard for desegregation in schools and spurred the later push to dismantle segregation more broadly.