Jim+Crow


 * To set the stage for the civil rights movement, you must first understand the environment of segregation in the United States in the first half of the 20th century. What was life like in Jim Crow America? Cut and paste this information into a new page in your Unit 8 Online ISN. You (and your partner, if you have one) are African Americans who have lived through the era of Jim Crow in America. Using the links provided in this activity, respond to the “oral history questions” in first person. **

**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 ammendment made sure that me and my friends were concidered as citizens in the US. The due process is the principle that government must respect all of the legal rights that are owed to my friend and me and we cant be treated differently because of our race or ethnicity. The equal protection of laws is when any state cant deny our rights.

**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 that Mr. Plessy was an African American but had a very light complexion so he could have passed as a white. He sat in the white car which made many people angry. It went all the way to the supreme court. He actually told the people that he was black so that he could test the law and show that he should be able to. This is a violation of the 14th Ammendments.

**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 is not a person but is a song performed by Thomas Darthouth Rice. Thomas was a white man who performed in blackface and degraded Blacks through his music crude humor and racist jokes. JIm Crow ended up being used as an offensive word, but by the end of the 1800s the words were used to describe the laws that oppressed my people, which i think is better than its first term.


 * 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]

Some laws are It will be unlawful for a black and white person to play together or in company with each other in any game of cards or dice, dominoes or checkers. Also marriages are void when one party is a white person and the other is possessed of one-eighth or more negro, Japanese, or Chinese blood. And there had to be separate free schools to be established for the education African Americanst; and it will be illegal for any colored child to attend any white school, or any white child to attend a colored school Another one is that a black man and a white man couldnt shake hands because it would show they were equal. Also, if a black man tries to shake hands with a white women, it will be thought of as rape. We cant even be polite to the white people.


 * 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]

Very split up, never mixed and always half black and half white. Directions everywhere saying either colored only or white only. Above train cars, buss seats, even small things like doors and drinking fountains.

Nine young black men were accused of rape of two young women with no evidence against them. The women were scared to admit it wasnt true because they were in relation with the hobos that were thrown off the trains earlier and didnt want to be caught because they did illegal things so they decided to go along with it. All but the youngest were sentenced to death but luckily it was overthrown. There was absolutely no evidence but they were still punished.
 * What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South?** [|Scottsboro LINK]

**What do some of your friends and family say about life in Jim Crow America? (listen to one or two)** [|Audio History LINK 1]

My friends think it was nasty, split up, and very racially driven. Whites thinking they were superior and such. They also think it is unfair, but we must stay strong, and never let them tower over us or beat our persistence.