How did the Supreme Court's decision in Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) affect race relations in the South in the late 19th century?

A. The court struck down a law that would have declared all Jim Crow laws to be unconstitutional.

B. The court ordered Southern states to enforce the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments.

C. The decision allowed Southern states to legally segregate facilities and institutions,

D. The decision awarded African Americans new political freedoms such as the right to hold office.