What difference do the supreme court rulings in plessy v. ferguson and brown v. board of education most reflect?

The difference in interpretation regarding the equal protection clause.

Explanation:

The equal protection clause of the 14th amendment states that all citizens should be protected equally by the constitution, regardless of race.

In the Supreme Court case Plessy vs. Ferguson (1896), the Supreme Court justices ruled that the establishment of "separate but equal" facilities for black and white citizens was not a violation of the equal protection clause. The justices, lead by Chief Justice Roger Taney, argued that if the facilities are equal than it does not violate the constitution as all citizens have access to the same thing.

However, in the Brown vs. Board of Education case (1954), the Supreme Court rules that "separate but equal" is a violation of the 14th amendment. This is based off the fact that separating people by races is fundamentally wrong and violates the equal protection clause.