Louisiana passes the Separate Car Act, which states that railroad companies must provide separate but equal train cars for blacks and whites. Two years later, Homer Plessy would test the legality of this act, and his case would make it to the United States Supreme Court.

Following the Supreme Court decision in Re Green, Mississippi enacts "understanding" tests, thereby limiting black suffrage.

Inventor Charles B. Brooks patents his street sweeper truck.

The Blair Bill, which provides federal funds to provide educational support and reduce illiteracy among freedmen, comes up for vote in the U.S. Senate and is defeated by a vote of 37 - 31.

L.H. Jones patented his corn harvester on this date.

Poet and novelist Claude McKay was born on this date in Jamaica. Some of McKay's literary works include Songs of Jamaica, Harlem Shadows, and Home to Harlem.