Jim+Crow+America

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 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?**

-The fourteenth amendment granted rights to all of us. The amendment was created to give citizenship to freed slaves and protect the liberties of once slaves. The fourteenth amendment promises life, liberty, or property to everyone with "due process" of the law, simply meaning that the government must respect the legal rights of all citizens. "Equal protection of the laws" means that all citizens of the United States should be treated equally and have the same 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?**

-I remember that Homer Plessy was locked up for sitting in a "white" car. Plessy intentionally sat in the "white car, protesting the Separate Car Act that Louisiana passed. Plessy's lawyer argued that the Separate Car Act violated the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments. The Supreme Court decided that separate places for whites and black were constitutional so long as they were "equal." The Plessy v. Ferguson case set the precedent for the "separate, but equal" saying.

**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 wasn't actually a person, it was a term used to define an African American, usually used in the forms of a racial slur. After a while, Jim Crow was used to describe laws and customs which oppressed African Americans. Jim Crow didn't write the laws, but he was used to describe the laws.


 * What are some specific examples of the Jim Crow laws from southern states? How did the laws affect you?**

-The most hurtful law I remember was in Nebraska; it forbid mixed marriages between whites and blacks, Japanese, or Chinese people. Another law was in Alabama and it forbid blacks and whites to play cards, dice, dominoes, or checkers together. These laws affected my daily life because I was always conscious about what I was doing; I was afraid I would land up in jail for using the wrong bathroom or lighting the cigarette of a white lady, which implied intimacy.


 * 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 America was always segregated. There were different water fountains for blacks and whites, and that was only the beginning. Segregation between the two races was overwhelming and racism was very common.

There were split facilities for blacks and whites.


 * What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South?**

-Nine African American boys, the youngest at 12, were sentenced to death after being falsely accused for raping two white women. The two women, who were also on the train at the time, where afraid of being prosecuted for their sexual activites on the train, so they agreed to say that the nine African American boys raped them. The Scottsboro case made me feel extremely worried for my justice; I could be held accountable for something that I wasn't even slightly associated with and be sentenced to death for something that I didn't even do.

**What do some of your friends and family say about life in Jim Crow America? (listen to one or two)**

-My friends and family felt that life in Jim Crow America. We were treated like vermin and people thought that we didn't have feelings. George Butterfield's uncle died because the doctor didn't arrive until eight hours after the incident. This potrays the racism and tensions between us blacks and other whites. Maurice Luis, one of my good friends, told me that some whites would try to poisin us to stop us from voting.