Could "Separatate but equal" have been real

In OTL the Supreme Court used the phrase "Separate but Equal" in the 1890s to endorse the most extreme outragous apartheid.

My own instincts reject separation

BUT might there have been a deal to be made in the 1860s or 1870s wherein facilities and schools might have been separate in the South but high quality for both black and white?
 
For a lot of Southern Schools Separate but equal was a reality ------------------------ The poor white schools were As Equally Underfunded as the poor black schools.

While it may be possible to divide the government finances on a strict per capita The Powers were set on maintaining their Advantage. And They knew that giving out equal resources would lead to demands for other Areas of Equality.
 
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