This activity is built around two responses to the Plessy decision by leading African American intellectuals and brilliant writers of the era:   Booker T. Washington and Charles Chesnutt. Although both objected strenuously to Plessy, their responses vary greatly in tone, argumentation, and rhetorical device. Begin by having students read and annotate both sources; a dramatic read-aloud would be an effective launch for this activity, or use any close-reading strategy of your choice. Next, using the whiteboard, help students notate on a Venn diagram the points on which the two men agree (noted in a circle in the middle) and in separate circles, the points where they differ. After, lead a more general discussion of the two sources. Some discussion prompts include:

• Do you think the dates/years of the two responses are significant? How could their timing be a factor(i.e., Washington wrote immediately, Chesnutt 15 years after the Plessy decision)?
• Which response might have been more persuasive to White readers of the era? Which to African American readers? Why?
• Which arguments do you find most effective? Why?

Close by discussing this question as a full class (or ask students to journal about it):

• In what ways and why was the “separate but equal” doctrine detrimental to American society as a whole?