-
7/31/2019 Environmental Products (5)
1/5
Images not displaying properly? Click here to view the online
version.
A Weekly Column By Walter B. Hoye II
Conflict Of
Interest
In the abortion debate, is there a "Conflict of Interest"within
the Black community and among her leaders?
Subscribe Unsubscribe Forward Archives Issue No.: 2012.156
Environmental Products (5)
Plessy versus Ferguson
The United States Supreme Court in 1896
The members of the United States Supreme Court, 18961897. Under
Chief Justice
Melville Fuller, this Court established the "SeparateButEqual"
doctrine in a 7 to 1
decision on Monday, May 18th, 1896. Courtesy of the U.S. Supreme
Court. 1
Executive Summary
http://www.sharethis.com/share?url=http://www.issues4life.org/blast/2012156.html&title=Conflict+Of+Interest&summary=Is+there+a+conflict+of+interest+within+the+Black+community+and+among+her+leaders?+Could+her+leaders+be+complicit+in+the+carnage+of+their+own+people?+Walter+Hoye%27s+weekly+column+examines+the+abortion+debate+from+an+Black-American%27s+perspective+with+a+Judeo+Christian+Worldview.&img=http://www.issues4life.org/images/20090525walterhoye.jpg&publisher=cd4a03ed-661d-424c-8305-634e10fbd2d5http://www.issues4life.org/newsletters.htmlmailto:?subject=You%20Gotta%20Read%20This...&body=Greetings%20%5BYour%20Friend%27s%20Name%20Here%5D:%0A%0aI%20recommend%20you%20check%20out%20this%20link:%0A%0a-%20%20http://www.issues4life.org/blast/2012156.html%0A%0aYou%20gotta%20read%20this%20article%20from%20Walter%20Hoye%27s%20weekly%20column.mailto:[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe&body=Newsletter%20Manager:%0A%0aPlease%20remove%20my%20email%20address%20from%20your%20list.%0A%0AThank%20you.http://www.issues4life.org/foundationnewsletter.htmlhttp://www.issues4life.org/blast/2012156.html
-
7/31/2019 Environmental Products (5)
2/5
Homer Adolph Plessy was born on St. Patrick's Day in 1862,
when Union troops under General Benjamin Franklin Butler had
freed Black Americans in New Orleans. At that time Black
Americans
could then marry whomever they chose, sit in any streetcar
seat,
and even attend integrated schools. However, as a thirty (30)
year
old adult, Plessy found that those gains from the American
Civil
War (18621865) and the Radical Reconstruction of the South
(18631877)
were abolished after Union troops were withdrawn in the
Republican Compromise
of 1877. 2
The Facts Of The Matter
According to the One-Drop Rule, any American with African
ancestry (i.e.,
any person with even "one drop of black blood") was considered a
Black
American. 3 So when Mr. Plessy, who was 1/8 Black American, 4
a
Shoemaker, an insurance collector, a civil rights activist and a
member of the
Republican Party, 5 attempted to sit in an AllWhite railroad
car, he was
arrested for violating an 1890 Louisiana statute that provided
for segregated
"separate but equal" railroad accommodations. Black Americans
using
facilities not designated for their race were criminally liable
under the statute.
At trial with Justice John Howard Ferguson 6 presiding, Mr.
Plessy was
found guilty on the grounds that the law was a reasonable
exercise of the
states police powers based upon the social customs, usages, and
the
antebellum traditions in Louisiana.
The Question Before The Court
Can the states constitutionally enact legislation requiring
persons of different
races to use "separate but equal" segregated facilities?
The Answer And Decision From The Court
Yes. The states can constitutionally enact legislation requiring
persons of
different races to use "separate but equal" segregated
facilities. Judgment
for Ferguson (i.e., Plessy loses).
A Note Looking Forward
This case was overruled fiftyeight (58) years later by Brown v.
Board of
Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483, 74 S. Ct. 686, 98 L. Ed. 873
(1954). 7
The Justices Of The United States Supreme Court in 1896
"The judges and lawyers, simply as such, I mean, and all men of
expediency, try this case by a very low and
incompetent standard. They consider, not whether the Fugitive
Slave Law is right, but whether it is what they call
constitutional.
Is virtue constitutional, or vice? Is equity constitutional, or
iniquity? In important moral and vital questions like this, it is
just as
impertinent to ask whether a law is constitutional or not, as to
ask whether it is profitable or not. They persist in being the
servants of the worst of men, and not the servants of humanity.
The question is not whether you or your grandfather,
seventy years ago, did not enter into an agreement to serve the
devil, and that service is not accordingly now due; but whether
you
will not now, for once and at last, serve God, in spite of your
own past recreancy, or that of your ancestor, by obeying that
eternal and only just CONSTITUTION, which He, and not any
Jefferson or Adams, has written in your being." Henry David
Thoreau, from his 1854 essay entitled: "Slavery in
Massachusetts" based on a speech he gave at an antislavery rally
at
Framingham, Massachusetts, on July 4, 1854, after the
reenslavement in Boston, Massachusetts of fugitive slave
Anthony
-
7/31/2019 Environmental Products (5)
3/5
Burns. 8
The Majority Opinion
"That [the Separate Car Act] does not conflict with the
Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery is too
clear for argument A statute which implies merely a
legal distinction between the white and colored races a
distinction which is founded in the color of the tworaces, and
which must always exist so long as white
men are distinguished from the other race by
color has no tendency to destroy the legal equality of
the two races The object of the [Fourteenth
A]mendment was undoubtedly to enforce the absolute equality of
the two
races before the law, but in the nature of things it could not
have been
intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to enforce
social, as
distinguished from political equality, or a commingling of the
two races upon
terms unsatisfactory to either." Henry Billings Brown, Associate
Justice
of the United States Supreme Court 9
The Lone Dissenting Opinion
"Our Constitution is colorblind, and neither knows
nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil
rights, all citizens are equal before the law In my
opinion, the judgment this day rendered will, in time, prove
to be quite as pernicious as the decision made by this
tribunal in the Dred Scott case The present decision, it
may well be apprehended, will not only stimulateaggressions,
more or less brutal and irritating, upon the
admitted rights of colored citizens, but will encourage the
belief that it is
possible, by means of state enactments, to defeat the
beneficient
purposes which the people of the United States had in view when
they
adopted the recent amendments of the Constitution." John
Marshall
Harlan, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
10
Background Notes On The 1896 Justices
Stephen Johnson Field
Associate Justice Field was nominated to the United States
Supreme Court
by Abraham Lincoln (Republican). 11
Edward Douglass White, Jr.
Associate Justice White was nominated to the United States
Supreme Court
by Grover Cleveland (Democrat) in 1894, but was elevated to
serve as the
9th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court in 1910 by
William
Howard Taft (Republican). 12
-
7/31/2019 Environmental Products (5)
4/5
Henry Billings Brown (Author of the Majority Opinion)
Associate Justice Brown hired a substitute to take his place in
the Union
Army during the American Civil War, and instead served as a
federal
prosecutor. 13
David Josiah Brewer
Plessy versus Ferguson was a 7 to 1 decision because Associate
Justice
Brewer, did not participate in the decision, due to the death of
his daughter. 14
The 1896 Justices By The Numbers
6 : Were Republicans
6 : Were Nominated By Republican Presidents
9 : Were Adults During The American Civil War(18611865)
5 : Were Members Of A Mainstream Christian Denomination
The Appointment of Supremely Empty Promises
"The real difference between the United States and other nations
lies not in the worlds of the preamble to the Constitution, but
in the fact that the substantive clauses of the Constitution are
enforced by individuals independent of andnot beholden to
the elected branches." Judge Harold H. Greene, a federal judge
for the United States District Court for the District of
Columbia who was nominated by President James Earl "Jimmy"
Carter, Jr. in 1978. 15
For years political analysts have pointed out that
the prevailing power of the presidency lies in the
office holder's United States Supreme Court
appointments. The Supreme Court is the
highest court in the land, interpreting the
"Supreme Law" of the land. As the Judicial
Branch of our government, 16 the Supreme Court
stands as the final word on matters of law andbalances the
powers of both the Legislative and
Executive branches. Once the Supreme Court
has made a decision, no other court can
overturn or even review that decision. The
average justice serves for fourteen (14) years
and retires at age seventy-one (71). 17 Supreme Court justices
are appointed for
life so they never have to face reelection or make sure that
their decisions please
the president who appointed them. 18
Note To The Republican Party's Leadership Team
It's easy to say Supreme Court appointments are important and
it's easy to
see how a President's nomination(s) to the Supreme Court can
profoundly
impact our lives. However, historically and heinously these
"supreme
appointments"have harmed the lives of Black Americans.
Regardless of
the political party that nominated the Court's justices, Black
Americans,
-
7/31/2019 Environmental Products (5)
5/5
Native Americans and Disabled Americans have suffered by way of
Supreme
Court decisions. You cannot influence the hearts and minds of
the members
in oppressed communities, to vote for your Presidential
candidate on the
basis of future Supreme Court appointments. It just won't work.
We've heard
that, seen that, been there and done that before.
Here's A Grand Old Adage For The Grand Old Party's
Leadership
We don't care how much you know until we know how much you
care.
Brothers, we really need to talk.
Reference(s):
01. Rebecca Edwards, Vassar College "The Supreme Court in 1896"
(http://bit.ly/MaB3uN). See also The Fuller Court.jpg,
Wikimedia Commons (http://bit.ly/LdTKxm). This photograph has
been photoshopped to reflect the image of Associate Justice
Stephen J. Field from California instead of Associate Justice
Joseph McKenna from California.
02. Plessy v. Ferguson, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/mMv0D).
03. One-drop rule, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/KSACx).
04. Plessy v. Ferguson, Wiki Historia
(http://bit.ly/M256W1).
05. Homer Plessy, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/bIvaop).
06. John Howard Ferguson, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/M1L2Px).
07. Brown v. Board of Education, Wikipedia
(http://bit.ly/mK1Nv).
08. The Writing OfHenry David Thoreau: with bibliographical
introductions and full indexes, Volume 10
(http://bit.ly/KuHGtD).
09. Plessy v. Ferguson 1892, United States of American
Chronology (http://bit.ly/Qyonf).
10. ibid.
11. Stephen Johnson Field, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/KuL47N).
12. Edward Douglass White, Jr., Wikipedia
(http://bit.ly/Le4Xde).
13. Henry Billings Brown, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/gpPnnd).
14. David Josiah Brewer, Wikipedia (http://bit.ly/KZyivl).
15. Elected v. Appointed Judges; Which Selection Process is
Best?, Landmark Supreme Court Decision, Margaret (Marnie)
Brown and Professor Theodore Myhre, University of Washington
(http://bit.ly/KIZNec). See also Harold H. Greene, Wikipedia
http://bit.ly/eQdjja).
16. The Judicial Branch, The White House
(http://1.usa.gov/bYqzsp).
17. Ed Grabianowski, "How Supreme Court Appointments Work",
HowStuffWorks, Inc. (http://bit.ly/bpq1I2).
18. Ibid.
Click Here To Support Our Work. The Issues4Life Foundation is a
non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. All
donations are tax deductible. To send a donation via U.S. Mail,
please make the check or money order
payable to the "Issues4Life Foundation" and send it to the
address below. Or we have partnered with Real
Estate ForLife, where you can support our Pro-Life work at no
cost to you! For more information please click
here.
Issues4Life Foundation
1684 Decoto Road, Suite 261
Union City, California 94587-3544
[email protected]
www.issues4life.org
California Civil Rights Foundation
1684 Decoto Road, Suite 251
Union City, California 94587-3544
[email protected]
www.civilrightsfoundation.org
Copyright 2012 Issues4Life Foundation | California Civil Rights
Foundation. All rights reserved.To ensure our newsletter always
reaches your inbox, please add the above "FROM" email address to
your
address book. If you prefer not to receive news from us in the
future, you can unsubscribe here.
mailto:[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe&body=Newsletter%20Manager:%0A%0aPlease%20remove%20my%20email%20address%20from%20your%20list.%0A%0AThank%20you.http://www.civilrightsfoundation.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.issues4life.org/mailto:[email protected]://www.realestateforlife.org/http://www.issues4life.org/donations.htmlhttp://www.issues4life.org/donations.htmlhttp://www.issues4life.org/donations.htmlhttp://bit.ly/bpq1I2http://1.usa.gov/bYqzsphttp://bit.ly/eQdjjahttp://bit.ly/KIZNechttp://bit.ly/KZyivlhttp://bit.ly/gpPnndhttp://bit.ly/Le4Xdehttp://bit.ly/KuL47Nhttp://bit.ly/Qyonfhttp://bit.ly/KuHGtDhttp://bit.ly/mK1Nvhttp://bit.ly/M1L2Pxhttp://bit.ly/bIvaophttp://bit.ly/M256W1http://bit.ly/KSACxhttp://bit.ly/mMv0Dhttp://bit.ly/LdTKxmhttp://bit.ly/MaB3uN
