Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Bucky

(55,334 posts)
Tue Dec 12, 2023, 02:11 PM Dec 2023

There's no known photograph of Homer Plessy (of Plessy v Ferguson fame)

If you google for an image of Homer Plessy, you get a bag of this image:



Only that ain't Homer Plessy. It's a photo of 19th century Louisiana acting-governor P.B.S. Pinchback, who was also of partial African ancestry (his mother was a freed slave who moved her family to Ohio after his white father's death in 1848.

During the Civil War he moved to New Orleans and help raise colored troop units, even serving as one of the few black officers in the US Army at the time. Then he got into politics and was briefly acting governor of Louisiana, albeit 20 years before young Homer Plessy brought his famous lawsuit against the East Louisiana Railroad. (Fun fact: the ELR and most train lines in the south opposed the state's Separate Car Act because it raised their operating costs unnecessarily, so the civil rights group--the Comité des Citoyens-- that had recruited octoroon Plessy to buy the whites-only ticket had to hire their own private detective to arrest Plessy for the transgression)

Now, in trying to find a photo of Plessy for a Powerpoint for my US government class this week, I ran into this obscure history and wanted to find a photo of the man. But even as late as 1896 getting a personal photograph apparently wasn't something that happened all that often. So we don't know what Homer even looked like. A pity. His case ended in an overwhelming victory for Jim Crow, but he definitely laid some of the groundwork for a better and more equitable country.

Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»American History»There's no known photogra...