Read the passage. We consider the underlying fallacy of the plaintiff’s argument to consist in the assumption that the enforced separation of the two races stamps the colored race with a badge of inferiority. If this be so, it is not by reason of anything found in the act, but solely because the colored race chooses to put that construction upon it. . . . The argument also assumes that social prejudices may be overcome by legislation, and that equal rights cannot be secured . . . except by an enforced commingling of the two races. . . . If the civil and political rights of both races be equal, one cannot be inferior to the other civilly or politically. If one race be inferior to the other socially, the Constitution of the United States cannot put them upon the same plane.
–Majority opinion of the US Supreme Court,
Plessy v. Ferguson,
1896

Which statement best describes the US Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment in Plessy v. Ferguson?
A. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law; separation by race creates a condition of inequality and is not permissible.
B. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law; segregation laws are permissible as long as penalties for violating those laws do not differ based on race.
C. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law; segregation is legal, however, because African Americans are not citizens of the United States, so the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply.
D. The Fourteenth Amendment guarantees equal protection under the law; as long as equal facilities are provided, it is permissible for them to be segregated.