"Separate but Equal" and racial inequality in America

The phrase "separate but equal" is something many Americans have come to associate with part of the long fight for equal rights. But few of those Americans know the details about how the foundation of "separate but equal" came to be.

Many Americans don't understand the origins of the phrase, which experts say has helped create racial and economic inequality for generations.

Grand Valley State University's Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies, partnering with the university's Division of Inclusion and Equity, will host award-winning author and associate editor of The Washington Post Steve Luxenberg, as he discusses his book "Separate: Plessy v. Ferguson and America's Journey from Slavery to Segregation."

Steve Luxenberg: Plessy v. Ferguson — Race in American Memory

Thursday, January 23 at 7 p.m.

Charles W. Loosemore Auditorium, DeVos Center, GVSU Pew Grand Rapids Campus

401 W. Fulton Street, Grand Rapids, Michigan

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is requested at gvsu.edu/hc/events.

Luxenberg will visit the history of the significant case, and describe how it laid the foundation for segregation and inequality in America for generations. He will also describe why the case would later come to be seen as a turning point on race in the American narrative.

Luxenberg's book is described as "a brilliant milestone in understanding the history of race relations in America," by Bob Woodward.

For more information, visit gvsu.edu/hc.