ISBN10: 0786712937, ISBN13: 9780786712939, [publisher: NY. 2004. Carroll & Graf.] Hardcover First Edition black & blue hardbound 8vo. dustwrapper in protective plastic. fine cond. binding square & tight. covers clean. edges clean. contents free of all markings. dustwrapper in fine cond. not worn or torn or price clipped. first edition so stated. first printing (nap). xx+396p. glossy 17 b&w photo illustrations. 2 appendices. biblio. notes. index. american history. politics. african american history. reconstruction. jim crow laws. segregations. american civil rights movement. american supreme court. ~On June 7, 1892, Homer A. Plessy, a light~skinned New Orleans shoemaker of African lineage, boarded a "Whites Only" railroad coach. Rather than concealing his Negro heritage, he volunteered it to the conductor, who ordered him to move to the 'Jim Crow" car set aside by state law for Negroes. He refused, was quickly arrested, and charged with violating Louisiana law. As chronicled by acclaimed civil rights historian Harvey Fireside, Plessy's defiance led to one of the most pivotal civil rights cases in American history, and one of the Supreme Court's most tragic decisions. Professor Fireside uncovers many surprising details of the case, which began amid the remarkable Black Creole community that flourished in New Orleans even after Louisiana was purchased in 1804. Well~educated and prosperous, in the 1890s with the promises of ...