Descendants of Plessy and Ferguson Discuss Legacy and Reconciliation

Tulane Law and the Tulane Black Law Students Association (BLSA) hosted a special Black History Month program, “From VERSUS to AND: Our Shared History as Americans and How We Move Forward Together.” The evening brought students, faculty and community members to John Giffen Weinmann Hall for a conversation with Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson, descendants of the men whose names are linked in Plessy v. Ferguson. 

Dean Marcilynn Burke opened the program by reflecting briefly on the origins of Black History Month and the importance of preserving history as a source of inspiration and progress. She also led a moment of silence honoring recently departed civil rights leaders, grounding the evening in remembrance as well as reflection. 

Moderated by first-year law student and BLSA representative Claire Jackson, the discussion touched on the historical backdrop of the 1896 Supreme Court decision that upheld segregation under “separate but equal” until it was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education. But much of the evening focused less on doctrine and more on what happened more than a century later: how the descendants themselves found one another. 

Their meeting began with historian Keith Medley, whose decades of research into the case traced both family lineages. In 2003, Medley arranged for Plessy and Ferguson to attend one of his book events, without telling Ferguson that she would be meeting a Plessy descendant. When they were introduced, Ferguson recalled feeling overwhelmed by the weight of history. “I just started apologizing,” she said, describing her instinctive response to learning more fully about her great-great-grandfather’s role. 

Plessy quickly stopped her. The events of 1896, he suggested, did not have to define their relationship in the present. What followed was not a staged reconciliation, but the start of a friendship, one that continued through years of conversation. 

In the years after they met, friends, historians and community members encouraged them to think bigger about what their partnership could represent. In 2009, they co-founded the Plessy & Ferguson Initiative, a New Orleans–based nonprofit dedicated to education, historical preservation and community dialogue. 

Throughout the evening, the emphasis remained on moving forward together. By sharing how a chance introduction grew into a friendship and a shared mission, Plessy and Ferguson offered a powerful example of what it means to move from “versus” to “and.” Their reflections were met with a standing ovation, as the audience rose to recognize the hope embodied in their work.