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Why did Homer Plessy refuse to move from the white passenger car?

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Plessy v. Ferguson judgment — Plessy v. Ferguson *Plessy* v. *Ferguson* judgment, issued by the U.S. Supreme Court on May 18, 1896, advancing the controversial “separate but equal” doctrine for assessing the constitutionality of racial segregation laws.

Homer Plessy did not refuse to move simply as an act of personal defiance; he was acting as a participant in a planned legal challenge organized by the Citizens’ Committee to Test the Constitutionality of the Separate Car Law. The committee sought to challenge the Separate Car Act by using a light-skinned plaintiff to demonstrate that the law was inconsistently applied and failed to clearly define race.12

When the conductor ordered him to move to the "colored" car, Plessy refused, asserting his rights as an American citizen. He stated, "I have paid for a first-class ticket, and intend to ride to Covington in the first-class car". By remaining in the white passenger car, Plessy intentionally violated the state law to provide the basis for a court case that would ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court.12