Today, on this archive edition of Midday: In 1896, in the infamous “Plessy v Ferguson” case, the Supreme Court allowed “equal but separate” accommodations for blacks and whites, legalizing segregation for more than 60 years. In his latest book, Steve Luxenberg tells the back story of some of the people who were central to this historic case, tracing the pernicious roots of racism in American history that are far from being eliminated in American society. The book is called Separate: The Story of Plessy v Ferguson and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation.