jimcrowlife


 * **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 all formerly enslaved people citizenship, protected the civil liberties of the former slaves, deprive them of their life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Due process of law means that you go through a court and a court judge decides what happens to the person or what can be taken away from them. Equal prtoection of the laws means that no one can be treated differently under the law. Everyone must be equal under law and everyones rights must be valued and protected equally under law.

**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]

Homer Plessy was arrested for sitting in the white car on the East Louisiana Railroad, even though he could have easily passed for being white; under Louisiana law, he was black. When Louisiana passed the Seperate Car Act, which legally segregated common carriers, a black civil rights organization decided to challenge it in the courts. Purposefully, Plessy sat in the white car and identified himself as black and was arrested. The Supreme Court ended up ruling against Plessy. Justice Henry Brown wrote of the decision," a statue wich implies merely a legal distinction between white and colored races -- has no tendency to destroy the legal equality of the two races." This decision set the precedent that it was constitutional to have seperate facilities for blacks and whites as long as they were equal. Justice wouldn't be done for blacks getting more equal facilities until Brown v. Board of Education.

**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 a character in a play that was played by Thomas Dartmouth Rice in 1828. Being that Jim Crow was a high exaggerated and stereotypical black character, Jim Crow became used as a sort of racial slur for all blacks by 1838. Because of this, Jim Crow became used to describe laws and customs that oppressed blacks. No, Jim Crow didn't write these laws, and he wasn't a real person.


 * 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]

No white nurses could nurse in hospitals where black men were placed (Alabama). I might not be getting the best care if I'm seriously ill and might get sicker by not getting the best care. Whites and blacks aren't allowed to go to school together (Florida). All the good textbooks and well- trained teachers will be teaching in the white schools, and I will get a lower level education and won't get as good of a job as a white person. Any person who decides to teach in a school where both whites and blacks are inrolled will be charged with a misdemeanor (Oklahoma). Teachers aren't going to have any incentive to go and teach black students, so I will be stuck with the lower educated teachers.


 * 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]

Jim Crow America looked rather violent and horrific due to mass amounts of lynchings in the South by the KKK, riots by blacks to try to gain civil rights, and scuffles with white people dragging the blacks out of white sections of cars and buses. "The Agony of Lynching" by Lawrence Foy really does a good job of summing up what would happen to you if you were a black person and you didn't fall in line with the Jim Crow Laws.


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

A fight broke out between some white and black hobos, and the white hobos were kicked off of the train. Soon, authorities rounded up the 9 black youths, and they discovered to white women were disguised on the train as men. Even though theese black kids had no connection to these two white women, they charged the nine black kids with raping the white women and were takern to court for it. The jury convicted all nine of them and were all sentenced to death besides the youngest, who was only 12. I was severely angered by this decision, because they arrested them with no proof and only because they were black.

**What do some of your friends and family say about life in Jim Crow America? (listen to one or two)** [|Audio History LINK 1] || They believe that life is unfair and cruel in Jim Crow America. They would like to see equal opportunity in the workplace and a fair chance in education. They want laws to be changed so that everyone is treated equally under the laws.