Jim_Crow

**You are African Americans who have lived through the era of Jim Crow in American. Using the links provided in this activity, respond to the “oral history questions” in first person. ** 
 * 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? **

**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 freed slaves as well as protect the liberties of African Americans. Any person born in the United States is a natural born citizen. It prevented the government from depriving any person of their property or rights without a just cause or due process of law. The government has to follow the law. The equal protection of laws also ensured that all people had these rights and all people deserved equal treatment.

**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 hearing about a man Homer Plessy who purposely sat in the "White" car of a train in Louisiana. He was then arrested because there was a law that stated train cars should be segregated. Plessy sat in the "White" car to protest this law and he was arrested. When the case finally reached the Supreme Court, who decided that a law distinguishing between races does not destroy the liberty of the races. The "seprate but equal" doctrine was established and it was implied that the races could be separated as long as the conditions for equal for both but that never was the case.

**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] Thomas Dartmouth Rice was a struggling actor who stumbled upon on African American man singing the song "Jim Crow." He then created a show where he played a stereotypical black man named Jim Crow. Shows continued to be built around these characters portraying blacks as loon dancing fools. The term Jim Crow became a racial slur for African Americans due to the widespread popularity of these shows. Soon the phrase describe the laws and treatment that hurt blacks. No, Jim Crow did not write any of the laws.

There were laws segregating schools "Separate schools shall be provided for white and colored children, and no child of either race shall be permitted to attend a school of the other race, [Alabama Constitution, 1901]." I remember growing up how much nicer the white schools were with all the new supplies and materials they were given but we could only sit and watch because it was illegal to go to school with them. "There shall be maintained by the governing authorities of every hospital maintained by the state for treatment of white and colored patients separate entrances for white and colored patients and visitors, and such entrances shall be used by the race only for which they are prepared." [Mississippi 1930]. When my father was sick we would have to drive to the back of the hospital to enter the colored door and then go to the colored ward that seemed to get little attention compared to the other wings of the hospital. These laws had great impact on my life growing up they made me feel inferior and I did not nearly as many oppurtunities as the white children. “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.” [Alabama 1930].
 * 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]


 * 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]



A group of nine black men were falsely accused of raping two white woman by an angry group of white hobos who got kicked off the train after getting in a fight with the black men. The two woman falsely testified against the black boys because they did not want to get caught for having relations with the white men. Eight of the nine boys were sentanced to death showing just how unfair blacks were being treated. I was outraged when I heard the news every one knew those boys were innocent. It made us feel like we were never safe and if some one wanted they could accuse us for just about anything and we wouldnt have enough rights or equality to defend outselves.
 * What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South?** [|Scottsboro LINK]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**What do some of your friends and family say about life in Jim Crow America? (listen to one or two)** <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[|Audio History LINK 1]