Perry v Truefitt
Okay kiddo, let's talk about Perry v. Truefitt.
You know when you go to the barber or hair salon and they cut your hair? Well, Perry and Truefitt had a disagreement about who had the right to do that kind of work.
Perry was a guy who wanted to open up his own barber shop in Washington D.C., but he had a problem - there was a law that said he had to take a test before he could get a license to cut hair. Truefitt was a guy who already had a barber shop in D.C. and he agreed that Perry should have to take the test.
Perry thought that this was unfair because there were no African Americans on the board that made the test and he felt like the questions were designed to make it hard for him to pass. So, Perry sued Truefitt and the government, saying that the law was unconstitutional because it discriminated against African Americans like him.
The court agreed with Perry and said that the law was unconstitutional because it violated the 14th Amendment, which said that everyone should have "equal protection of the laws." That means that it's not fair to treat people differently just because of their race.
So, because of Perry v. Truefitt, states couldn't make laws that unfairly discriminated against African Americans who wanted to be barbers or do other kinds of jobs. It was an important case for civil rights and equality.
You know when you go to the barber or hair salon and they cut your hair? Well, Perry and Truefitt had a disagreement about who had the right to do that kind of work.
Perry was a guy who wanted to open up his own barber shop in Washington D.C., but he had a problem - there was a law that said he had to take a test before he could get a license to cut hair. Truefitt was a guy who already had a barber shop in D.C. and he agreed that Perry should have to take the test.
Perry thought that this was unfair because there were no African Americans on the board that made the test and he felt like the questions were designed to make it hard for him to pass. So, Perry sued Truefitt and the government, saying that the law was unconstitutional because it discriminated against African Americans like him.
The court agreed with Perry and said that the law was unconstitutional because it violated the 14th Amendment, which said that everyone should have "equal protection of the laws." That means that it's not fair to treat people differently just because of their race.
So, because of Perry v. Truefitt, states couldn't make laws that unfairly discriminated against African Americans who wanted to be barbers or do other kinds of jobs. It was an important case for civil rights and equality.