When the court stated "separate but equal," they were referring to the legal doctrine that allowed for racial segregation in public facilities, such as schools, transportation, and public spaces. This doctrine, established in the United States in the late 19th century and upheld by the Supreme Court in the landmark case Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), declared that as long as black and white facilities were provided separately, they were considered equal and did not violate the rights of African Americans. However, in practice, these separate facilities were almost always inferior for black individuals, leading to significant racial discrimination and inequality. The "separate but equal" doctrine was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which declared that segregated education was inherently unequal and violated the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.
