Steve Luxenberg, author and Washington Post editor, explains Frederick Douglass’ involvement in the post Civil War political landscape leading up to the decision of the Supreme Court case Plessy V. Ferguson, which upheld the “separate but equal” law. The final installment in 2019’s series on black history.

Topics include: The Fugitive Slave Act, segregation within the Massachusetts railroad system, Frederick Douglass’s chance meeting with politician Henry Clay on a Kentucky steamboat, the abolitionist groups of New Orleans, the arc of Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan, and the fallout of the landmark decision on Plessy V. Ferguson.

Steve Luxenberg, Author of “Separate, The Story of Plessy V. Ferguson, and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation” Photo by Josh Luxenberg