What was the result of the Plessy v. Ferguson decision in the South?

The result of the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, which was handed down by the United States Supreme Court in 1896, was the establishment of the "separate but equal" doctrine that essentially provided a legal justification for racial segregation. In the South, this decision had far-reaching consequences. It legitimized state laws that had been creating separate public facilities for blacks and whites as long as they were purported to be equal. This led to the widespread implementation of racially segregated schools, transportation, restrooms, restaurants, and other public spaces.

In practice, the facilities and services provided to African-Americans were often of much lower quality than those provided to whites. The Plessy v. Ferguson ruling remained the legal foundation for segregating American society until it was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court in the 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education, which found that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal," thus beginning the process of desegregation.