Jim+Crow


 * 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 was one of three Amendments that were passed to help us by "granting citizenship to anyone born in the United States and prohibiting states from denying or abridging the privileges or immunities of citizens of the U.S., depriving any person of his life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or denying to any person within their jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws" as stated by the PBS web site. This Amendment was passed in 1868 and it was a great step on helping us African Americans achieve equality. Due process means fair treatment by the law, which is an American legal principal meaning that every persons rights must be recognized. And equal protection of the law means that we all have the same access to the law and courts and to be treated and protected equally.

**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] **

I remember this case very clearly. This was the real test of if we are equal or not. The case went like this... On June 7, 1892, 30-year-old Homer Plessy was on a train and decided to sit in the white car of this train in Louisiana. In that state there is a law for having segregated train cars. But due to his light complexion, he decided to sit in the white car and therefore, he was arrested. When he went to court his lawyer said that this law was against the 13th and 14th Amendment. But unfortunately, he did not win. The court stated that as long as the facilities were equal, then they could be separate. This lead to the  "Separate but Equal" Doctrine. But then in 1954, this would be challenged, and this time we would be more successful.

**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 not an actual person. The name Jim Crow is often used to describe the segregation laws, rules, and customs which arose after Reconstruction ended in 1877. The name Jim Crow was invented by Thomas Dartmouth Rice, a struggling actor. He saw a stereotypical black man singing the song called "Jack Crow" and then later went on stage to preform as this man. After a while this started to be used as a racial word against us. But by the end of the 19th century, the words Jim Crow started to be used to describe laws that were against blacks. So if you wanted to put a face to the name Jim Crow, it would be Rice. But he did not write the 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] ****/ ****<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16pt;">[|Jim Crow Laws LINK 3] **

<span style="color: #1d1c14; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">“It shall be unlawful for a negro and white person to play together or in company with each other in any game of cards or dice, dominoes or checkers.” <span style="color: #1d1c14; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"> —Birmingham, Alabama, 1930 <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">This law was the hardest for me because my children always wanted to go over and play a game with some other kids on the street over. But I could never let them go because they are white and we are black. I did not want to explain why they could not go and play so I always had to lie and say that the other children were not home. I don't like lying to my children...

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Also the signs like these started coming up.... <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">So in a way, we were in the same category as dogs? That was really degrading and hurtful...

**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16pt;">5) What did Jim Crow look like in the 1900s? What are some images that can help explain the realities of the time? ****<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16pt;">[|Jim Crow Images LINK 1] ****<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16pt;">/ ****<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16pt;">[|Jim Crow Images LINK 2] **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"> We always were in separate rooms or restaurants, never together. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 16px;"> Then they started to compare to the image that Mr. Rice was creating about African Americans through his Jim Crow acts.

**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16pt;">6) What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South? ****<span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16pt;"> [|Scottsboro LINK] **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">Nine young men were falsely charged with raping two white women in Alabama. This then really showed our so called "equality". The women on the train agreed to testify against the young boys, when they all knew that it was not true. This shows how things were always against the blacks and no one would speak out for them even if they knew the truth. Because of their lies, eight innocent boys were put to death. This made me feel so angry because we were not equal, we were not even close to being equal. Probably almost everybody knew that they were innocent but no one would speak out for the black boys... I feel so bad for them. I do not know how I would have been able to live on if I was one of those women knowing that I had to lie and am responsible for the death of eight young boys.

**<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 16pt;">7) Why should anyone care about your life during Jim Crow America? [|Why should I care? Link] **

<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; font-size: 12pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">This is a very important time in history. I defined our lives today. This time period set the stage for the Civil Right Movement. If this would have not happened then we might still be living segregated today. Imagine how our lives would be different. The Jim Crow Era was a time of great racism and is the history of our country and we need to respect the people that died fighting for our equality. This Era of the United States was not only limiting to us, but also the whites. This was not the United States that we were hoping to have.