Sociological Perspective: Separate but Equal African Americans (blacks) give a different meaning to the word equal than others. The social product that blacks assign to mean equal suggests that it has equal value. Plessy v. Ferguson was instrumental in dealing with separate but equal cases. Plessy believed that separating was not equal. Plessy was a freeborn man and was one-eighth black and seven-eighths white. Just because he had a small percentage of black in his blood, he was forced to move from an all-white car on the train to a colored car on the East Louisiana Railroad. He was arrested and then jailed for civil disobedience. Plessy argued that his 13th and 14th amendments to the U.S. Constitution were violated. The Plessy case suggested that separating was equal. Others may think that everyone receives the same treatment as each other. Black people have always had lower education, different fountains, and dirtier bathrooms. There was a "colored only" sign posted outside the black restrooms. Even though they were both public structures and one had “only color” on the outside, the assumption was that both structures were of equal quality. Black people saw it as not getting fair treatment, but others saw it as equal just because they had a bathroom period. Just because black people had their own bathroom didn't make it equal. Suppose the "colored only" bathroom was out of order, there would be no place for them to use the bathroom unless they used the other bathroom. This is significant because blacks had a different meaning of the word equal. People who weren't black thought that just because there was a bathroom to use to bl...... middle of paper ...... ater. As they approached the fountain in front of the restaurant, they were told they had to go back and drink the water from a hose. They thought it was the same just because blacks drank the water. It didn't matter that the water traveled through a pipe rather than through a purified apparatus. This writing should illustrate and demonstrate the meaning that blacks placed on separate but equal. It is significant to understand that Black people define equal as equal, as opposed to others who define equal as equal but separate. The social construction and consequences due to the above are a reality for Black people. The life experiences of a people are their reality. The consequences of the realities mentioned in this writing have helped support the black thought of being treated differently rather than being treated the same..