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 Notebook. 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 . You can do this in Word by copying this document onto a new document , completing it using the resources below, and cutting and pasting it into a new page on your notebook. Make sure your responses are in first person! **

The 14th Amendment granted citizenship to African Americans who had been slaves. The phrase "due process" means that, since we are now citizens, no one can take away our life, liberty, or pursuit of happiness without first going through the due process of the laws of the US. There are steps to follow. "Equal protection of laws" means that no state can deny the newly freed African Americans must be considered equal.
 * 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] **

A very brave black man named Plessy sat in a "white only" train car and was arrested. An African American rights group took his case all the way to the Supreme Court and argued that the separate cars law violated the 13th and 14th amendments. The Supreme Court decided that the law was Constitutional. This decision paved the way for separate facilities everywhere.
 * 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] **

Jim Crow was a character created by Thomas Rice, a white man. He was an actor who portrayed a black man in his plays. He made African Americans out to be stupid, smiling, idiots. This stereotype spread throughout the white community and soon Rice was very popular. The name Jim Crow was soon being used to describe oppressive laws.
 * 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 Laws LINK 1]  / [|Jim Crow Laws LINK 2] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">/ <span style="background-color: initial; color: #001ee6; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">[|Jim Crow Laws LINK 3] / ****[|Jim Crow Laws Link 4]** = Some examples of Jim Crow laws are, separate accommodations, separate rooms in hospitals and prisons, different schools, white nurses don't have to treat black patients, and separate waiting rooms. The main thing that affects me with these laws is that it is degrading. I have to go an entirely different place just to get a drink! The worst law is that blacks cannot marry whites. I think this is a huge assault on our freedom of choice. Also, it is unlawful for me to even shake hands with a white man!
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">4) What are some specific examples of the Jim Crow laws from southern states? How did the laws affect you? Which on edo you feel is the worst? **

We have different waiting rooms. We are oppressed. We are forced to work in chain gangs. We have a different movie theater.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">5) What did Jim Crow America look like in the 1900s? What are some images that can help explain the realities of the time? <span style="color: #6e1a7e; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">[|Jim Crow Images LINK 1] <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">/ <span style="background-color: initial; color: #001ee6; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">[|Jim Crow Images LINK 2] **

The Scottsboro Case happened after 9 black boys riding a freight train got into a fight with some white hobos. The whites were thrown off the train, but they reported the other boys to the stationmaster who wired ahead to arrest them. Soon after that, they found two white girls hiding in the train. They had had sexual relations with the hobos and were scared enough to agree to accuse the blacks of raping them. Even with complete lack of evidence, the nine were convicted and all but the youngest were sentenced to death.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">6) What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South? <span style="background-color: initial; color: #001ee6; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;"> [|Scottsboro LINK] **

People should care because of the valiant resistance of African Americans in the face of grave danger from mobs and unjust laws. These brave individuals and groups deserve to be remembered as people who stood up for what was right in the midst of so much wrongness.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">7) Why should anyone care about your lilfe during Jim Crow America? [|Why should I care? Link] **