Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2003
Abstract
Title in English: Fighting for public rights: writing, lawsuits and racial segregation in Louisiana (1888-1889).
This article explores the links between the fight against compulsory racial segregation and the day–to–day operation of the law in nineteenth century Louisiana. Using the figure of Louis A. Martinet, one of the organizers of the test case that yielded the U.S. Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson, the essay argues that Martinet’s role as notary reflects the central importance to the community of color of questions of public standing and written records. The article also identifies the concepts of "public rights" and "public liberties" as key to the case itself, distinguishing these from the nineteenth–century U.S. construct of "social equality".
Recommended Citation
Scott, Rebecca J. "Se Battre pour ses Droits Écritures, Litiges et Discrimination Raciale en Louisiane (1888-1899)." J. Hébrard, translator. Cahiers du Brésil Contemporain, no. 53/54 (2003): 175-210.
Included in
Civil Rights and Discrimination Commons, Law and Race Commons, Legal History Commons, State and Local Government Law Commons
Comments
This article is available on the Cahiers du Brésil Contemporain website at: http://www.revues.msh-paris.fr/vernumpub/10-Rebecca%20Scott.pdf