Which concept primarily differentiates the rulings in Brown v. Board of Education and Plessy v. Ferguson?

The primary concept that differentiates the rulings in Brown v. Board of Education and Plessy v. Ferguson is the legality of segregation. In Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine, asserting that it was permissible for state-sponsored segregation to exist as long as the separate facilities for the races were equal in quality. This ruling effectively legalized segregation in many areas of public life, including schools.

In contrast, Brown v. Board of Education (1954) directly challenged the legality of segregation in public schools. The Court found that segregation in education was inherently unequal and therefore unconstitutional, overturning the precedent set by Plessy. This landmark decision recognized that segregated educational facilities could never be equal, and thus the practice of segregation violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The ruling in Brown marked a significant shift in legal attitudes toward segregation, emphasizing that any form of segregation based solely on race is unjust and unconstitutional.

The distinction between these two cases highlights the evolving interpretation of civil rights and the role of the Supreme Court in addressing issues of racial inequality in the United States.