Life+in+Jim+Crow+America


 * 1) **** Right after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment was ratified. What did the 14th Amendment provide for African Americans? What does “due process” and “equal protection of the laws” mean? **** [|14th LINK] **

The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to the people who were enslaved and protected their civil liberties. Anyone born in the United States, including African-Americans, became citizens, and the amendment prohibited states from denying the privileges or immunities of citizens. Not having due process of law meant the denial of equal protection of the law to any person. In other word, due process of law was the law equal affecting people.


 * 2) Unfortunately, your equal rights were challenged by the Supreme Court in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson. What do you remember about the facts, decision, and impact of this case? **** [|Plessy LINK] **

On June 7th 1892, man named Homer Plessy was jailed for sitting in the “white” car of the East Louisiana Railroad. Louisiana had issued a Separate Car Act earlier that year that made it legal to segregate common carriers. Plessy and black civil rights groups then decided to challenge the law. Plessy got himself arrested in a car and the case went to the Supreme Court. Unfortunately for Plessy, the Supreme Court ruled the law constitutional, claiming it was “separate but equal”. The one Justice who agreed that it violated the 13th and 14th Amendments, John Harlan, knew this decision would cause a lot of tension and friction between White and African-American people.


 * 3) The laws developed in the South became known as Jim Crow laws. Who was this Jim Crow fellow? Did he write the laws? **** [|Jim Crow LINK] **

Jim Crow was a cartoonish, stereotypical black man created by Thomas Dartmouth “Daddy” Rice. White men would put on burnt cork to wear blackface makeup and would sing and dance in front of audiences. They were racially insensitive and the term Jim Crow became a racial slur. Jim Crow was a character, not a person. He didn’t write laws.


 * 4) What are some specific examples of the Jim Crow laws from southern states? How did the laws affect you? **** [|Jim Crow Laws LINK 1] **** / **** [|Jim Crow Laws LINK 2] **** / **** [|Jim Crow Laws LINK 3] **

I was not allowed to live in or buy houses in certain neighborhoods – they were reserved to persons of the white Caucasian race. In additions, there would be signs saying things like “For White Passengers” or “Colored Waiting Room” – they segregated whites and African Americans. I wasn’t allowed to shake hands with whites because it implied equality. I was not supposed to eat with whites – when blacks and whites did eat together, whites were served first. I was not allowed to show affection to anyone else in public, white or black, because it offended the whites. And also, whites always called me by my first name, but I had to give them a title, like Sir, Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ma’am, etc.


 * 5) What did Jim Crow America look like in the 1900s? What are some images that can help explain the realities of the time? **** [|Jim Crow Images LINK 1] **** / **** [|Jim Crow Images LINK 2] **

There would be signs saying things like “Restrooms – White only” and “Water fountains – White left, colored right”. A particularly famous image is one of the Rex Theater For Colored People. The theater was designated for African Americans. Jim Crow laws segregated everything – many places had signs saying they didn’t hire African Americans. Getting a house, job, or really anything was hard for an African American.




 * 6) What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South? **** [|Scottsboro LINK] **

Nine black youths were falsely accused of raping two white women in Alabama. It began on March 25th, 1931, on a train full of people looking for work. A fight between the white hobos and black hobos broke out, and the blacks won. The whites were kicked off the train, but they reported the incident to a stationmaster. The train stopped at a town called Paint Rock, where the nine black boys were rounded up and jailed. They were about to be charged with assault when two white women on the train were discovered. The nine youths then had rape attached to the list of crimes they supposedly committed. The jury in Alabama sentenced 8 of the 9 to death – the youngest was spared a death sentence. This made me feel worthless – like if I inconvenienced any of the white folk, I could be sent to jail or given a death sentence.


 * 7) Why should anyone care about your life during Jim Crow America? [|Why should I care? Link] **

Like it or not, racism was a large part of America and the Civil Rights movement is a definitive time period in U.S. history. Starting with early colonization of America with indentured servants and slaves, Americans have maltreated African Americans in some way or other. Studying times of great racism will help us overcome racism itself, and hopefully someday we can live in racial equality. It is difficult to imagine a world without racism - where nobody would ever be judged by the color of their skin, because America has never been a place of total racial equality. Personally, I like to believe that someday, the human race will be intelligent enough to judge fellow humans by merit rather than blood. Will there ever be a time with no racism? I don't know for sure. We have a long way to go - but we've come a long way as well.