The practice of segregating people by race and/or gender has taken two different forms. The first form, de jure segregation, is separation enforced by law. This is a legal separation of different racial groups. On the other hand, de facto segregation happens through individual preferences, rather than through formal laws. De jure segregation was used to sustain a racial scale. Even though de facto segregation of African Americans had similar intentions, it was more of a result of private choice and American value. Both forms of segregation contributed to racial hierarchy. Sociohistorical contextualization: Delgado, Perea, and Stefancic explain the two different practices of segregation and how they were used in specific court cases. For example,