Sun, 24 Jan 2010 08:11:58 +0000

Phoebe Ferguson found it "daunting" when she learned her grandfather prevailed in a U.S. Supreme Court case that made segregated schools and even train travel the law of the land.

On the flip side of that case, Keith Plessy is humbled to be the descendant of Homer Plessy, a black man arrested in 1892 when he rode in a white-only railway car in New Orleans.

In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson became synonymous in the United States with the doctrine of "separate but equal," meaning separate facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were equal. It was applied to schools, restaurants, theaters, restrooms and other public facilities.

On Sunday, Ferguson and Plessy will talk about their ties to Plessy v. Ferguson, which set the stage 58 years later for Brown v. Board of Education, which barred segregated schools and reversed Plessy. Plessy, 53, and Ferguson, 52, were interviewed Friday by phone from their homes in New Orleans.

Plessy's great-grandfather was a first cousin of Homer Plessy, who challenged the segregationist law in Louisiana.

Ferguson is a great-great-granddaughter of Judge John Howard Ferguson, the judge who ruled Louisiana had the right to regulate railroad companies operating within state lines, including where blacks rode aboard a train. John Ferguson became the defendant in the case, which was upheld in the Louisiana Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

A group called the Citizens' Committee had recruited Homer Plessy to buy a ticket, board the train and get arrested riding in the whites-only passenger car so the law could be challenged in court.

"He was the perfect case because he was a very light-skinned person, being one-eighth African-American. He was light enough to buy the ticket but dark enough to get arrested," Plessy said, quoting Keith Weldon Medley, author of the book, "We as Freemen: Plessy v. Ferguson."

Ferguson learned in 2002 of her tie to Judge Ferguson when a man researching the judge's former home referred to him as the judge in Plessy v. Ferguson. She was "stunned. Being on the wrong side of history doesn't feel great."

Had she not met Plessy, she wouldn't have known what to do with that information, she said.

Ferguson, a documentary filmmaker, and Plessy, a bellman at a Mariott hotel in New Orleans, met at a book signing for Medley's book in December 2004.

"I'm Keith Plessy," he said.

"I'm Phoebe Ferguson," she said.

"It's no longer Plessy v. Ferguson; it's Plessy and Ferguson," Plessy said spontaneously.

"It was so powerful," she said. "When he said that, it was an important opportunity for us to share our legacy in a powerful way."

John Ferguson wasn't a white supremacist, Ferguson said. For seven years until 1865, he studied law with a lawyer who was abolitionist in Boston. He was understated, straightforward, and there is no evidence that he was a racist, she said.

Being Homer's descendant carries weight.

"It was pretty big shoes that he wore," Plessy said. "My feet are a little small to fit in those shoes. It's an honor, a pleasure to make a difference in my lifetime."

It is important for Americans to know about Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson, said Cheryl Brown Henderson, president of the Brown Foundation.

"This is something the whole nation needs to know, that these folks are out there, they exist, they are talking about their families," she said.

"The unique part of this is our ability to allow historic events to reconnect. Brown v. Board overturned Plessy v. Ferguson," Henderson said. "Not in our wildest dreams did we think we would actually meet descendants of Homer Plessy and John Ferguson."

Henderson is one of three daughters of Oliver Brown, the plaintiff whose name leads the Brown v. Board case.

Steve Fry either can be reached at (785) 295-1206 or at steve.fry@cjonline.com.

Phoebe Ferguson found it "daunting" when she learned her grandfather prevailed in a U.S. Supreme Court case that made segregated schools and even train travel the law of the land.

On the flip side of that case, Keith Plessy is humbled to be the descendant of Homer Plessy, a black man arrested in 1892 when he rode in a white-only railway car in New Orleans.

In 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson became synonymous in the United States with the doctrine of "separate but equal," meaning separate facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were equal. It was applied to schools, restaurants, theaters, restrooms and other public facilities.

On Sunday, Ferguson and Plessy will talk about their ties to Plessy v. Ferguson, which set the stage 58 years later for Brown v. Board of Education, which barred segregated schools and reversed Plessy. Plessy, 53, and Ferguson, 52, were interviewed Friday by phone from their homes in New Orleans.

Plessy's great-grandfather was a first cousin of Homer Plessy, who challenged the segregationist law in Louisiana.

Ferguson is a great-great-granddaughter of Judge John Howard Ferguson, the judge who ruled Louisiana had the right to regulate railroad companies operating within state lines, including where blacks rode aboard a train. John Ferguson became the defendant in the case, which was upheld in the Louisiana Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.

A group called the Citizens' Committee had recruited Homer Plessy to buy a ticket, board the train and get arrested riding in the whites-only passenger car so the law could be challenged in court.

"He was the perfect case because he was a very light-skinned person, being one-eighth African-American. He was light enough to buy the ticket but dark enough to get arrested," Plessy said, quoting Keith Weldon Medley, author of the book, "We as Freemen: Plessy v. Ferguson."

Ferguson learned in 2002 of her tie to Judge Ferguson when a man researching the judge's former home referred to him as the judge in Plessy v. Ferguson. She was "stunned. Being on the wrong side of history doesn't feel great."

Had she not met Plessy, she wouldn't have known what to do with that information, she said.

Ferguson, a documentary filmmaker, and Plessy, a bellman at a Mariott hotel in New Orleans, met at a book signing for Medley's book in December 2004.

"I'm Keith Plessy," he said.

"I'm Phoebe Ferguson," she said.

"It's no longer Plessy v. Ferguson; it's Plessy and Ferguson," Plessy said spontaneously.

"It was so powerful," she said. "When he said that, it was an important opportunity for us to share our legacy in a powerful way."

John Ferguson wasn't a white supremacist, Ferguson said. For seven years until 1865, he studied law with a lawyer who was abolitionist in Boston. He was understated, straightforward, and there is no evidence that he was a racist, she said.

Being Homer's descendant carries weight.

"It was pretty big shoes that he wore," Plessy said. "My feet are a little small to fit in those shoes. It's an honor, a pleasure to make a difference in my lifetime."

It is important for Americans to know about Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson, said Cheryl Brown Henderson, president of the Brown Foundation.

"This is something the whole nation needs to know, that these folks are out there, they exist, they are talking about their families," she said.

"The unique part of this is our ability to allow historic events to reconnect. Brown v. Board overturned Plessy v. Ferguson," Henderson said. "Not in our wildest dreams did we think we would actually meet descendants of Homer Plessy and John Ferguson."

Henderson is one of three daughters of Oliver Brown, the plaintiff whose name leads the Brown v. Board case.

Steve Fry either can be reached at (785) 295-1206 or at steve.fry@cjonline.com.