The ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson stated that segregation was acceptable as long as the separate facilities provided for African Americans were of equal quality to those provided for white Americans. This concept became known as "separate but equal." The Supreme Court justified segregation on the basis that it did not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as long as the facilities were equal. This ruling allowed for the widespread segregation and discrimination against African Americans in the United States for decades.
