The supreme court’s ruling in plessy v. ferguson was problematic because

*the court was not able to overturn the louisiana state law that required passengers be separated by race.
*the court did not have any african american justices among its members.
*it was unclear if plessy (who was of mixed race) broke the law by sitting in the whites-only coach.
*it was based on the belief that segregation was permissible as long as the facilities were equal.