State v. Mann1830 · Raleigh, North CarolinaNorth Carolina's Supreme Court rules a man holding a captive woman cannot be prosecuted for shooting her: the holder's power 'must be absolute.'Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_v._Mann)
Prigg v. Pennsylvania1842 · York County, PennsylvaniaThe Supreme Court strikes Pennsylvania's law protecting free people from kidnappers, holding the federal fugitive law controls. Margaret Morgan and her children, some born free, are carried into Maryland.Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prigg_v._Pennsylvania)
Dred Scott v. Sandford1846–1857 · Old Courthouse, St. LouisMarch 6, 1857: Chief Justice Roger Taney writes that people papered as Negro, held or free, could never be citizens and 'had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.' The 14th Amendment (1868) overturns it.Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dred_Scott_v._Sandford)
Ableman v. Booth1854–1859 · Milwaukee, WisconsinAfter Milwaukee crowds free Joshua Glover from jail in 1854, Wisconsin's court frees the man charged. The Supreme Court overrules it in 1859, holding states cannot block the federal fugitive law.Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ableman_v._Booth)
Elk v. Wilkins: 'Indians not taxed'1880–1884 · Omaha, NebraskaJohn Elk, born on his nation's land, lives in Omaha, renounces tribal ties and tries to vote. The Court holds he is not a citizen under the 14th Amendment, because Indians born in tribal relations were not 'subject to the jurisdiction.' Lens (WW9): the 'Indians not taxed' also included our people whWikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk_v._Wilkins)
The Civil Rights Cases1883 · Supreme Court, Washington, D.C.The Court strikes the Civil Rights Act of 1875, holding Congress can't bar private businesses (inns, theaters, railroads) from refusing our people. Justice Harlan dissents alone.Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Cases)
Plessy v. Ferguson1892–1896 · Press Street, New OrleansHomer Plessy, a Creole of color, sits in the white car on purpose in 1892 to test Louisiana's Separate Car Act. May 18, 1896: the Court upholds 'separate but equal.'Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plessy_v._Ferguson)
Morgan v. Virginia1944–1946 · Gloucester County, VirginiaIrene Morgan refuses to give up her bus seat in 1944. The Court strikes segregation on interstate buses; the 1947 Journey of Reconciliation tests it.Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_v._Virginia)
Boynton v. Virginia1958–1960 · Richmond, VirginiaLaw student Bruce Boynton is arrested in a Richmond bus terminal restaurant. The Court bans segregation in interstate terminals; the Freedom Riders ride in 1961 to test it.Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boynton_v._Virginia)
Loving v. Virginia1958–1967 · Central Point, Caroline County, VirginiaMildred Loving, of Black and Rappahannock roots, and Richard Loving are jailed in 1958 for marrying. June 12, 1967: the Court strikes every state ban on interracial marriage. Virginia's law came from the 1924 Racial Integrity Act that also erased Native people on paper.Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loving_v._Virginia)
McCleskey v. Kemp1978–1987 · Atlanta, GeorgiaWarren McCleskey shows killers of white victims in Georgia were far more likely to get death. The Court upholds his death sentence 5-4; he is executed in 1991.Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCleskey_v._Kemp)