June 7 Birthday
On June 7, 1892, Homer Plessy, a man of mixed race who could "pass" as white, boarded a whites-only train car in New Orleans and refused to move. He had been selected by the Citizens' Committee, a civil rights group, to test Louisiana's Separate Car Act. The case reached the Supreme Court, which in 1896 upheld segregation by a 7-1 vote, establishing the "separate but equal" doctrine that would last for fifty-eight years. Justice John Marshall Harlan, the sole dissenter, wrote: "The Constitution is color-blind, and neither knows nor tolerates classes among citizens." Plessy was convicted, paid a $25 fine, and faded into obscurity. The decision he inspired was overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. Prince, born this day in 1958, was named Prince Rogers Nelson. He wrote his first song at seven. He signed with Warner Bros. at nineteen and produced every track on his first album himself. Purple Rain (1984) sold 25 million copies. He was famously litigious about his music, changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol and writing "SLAVE" on his cheek to protest his contract. After his death in 2016, a vault at Paisley Park containing thousands of unreleased recordings was opened. People born on June 7 fall under the zodiac sign of Gemini. The birthstone is Pearl and the birth flower is Rose. Historical events on June 7 include 1892: Homer Plessy arrested for boarding a whites-only train car in New Orleans, 1939: King George VI becomes first British monarch to visit the United States, 1965: Griswold v. Connecticut legalizes birth control for married couples. Famous people born on June 7 include Dean Martin (1917), Tom Jones (1940), Prince (1958).