Jim+Crow+Life

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] After the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment was adopted to the Constitution to guarantee African American rights. The Fourteenth Amendment was one of the three amendments that focused on African Americans. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and the Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed African American men the right to vote. Fourteenth amendment gave blacks freedom of speech, expression, religion, the right to vote, and the due process of law. The government also gave equal protection by race and origin. Did not include woman's rights act.

**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 the date al-right, it was June 7, 1892. Homer Plessy was jailed for sitting in the “White” car of the East Louisiana Railroad. He was a Creole of Color, this means that Mr. Plessy could have easily pass for being white though in the Louisiana law, he was considered black. This term was used for people like him because the black people who lived in New Orleans had traces of ancestry from the French, the Spanish, and the Caribbean settlers. The main reason why this would happen is because sometimes a black civil rights organization would decide to challenge the law in courts. So, Plessy deliberately say in the white section and was arrested. The case went all the way up ot the Supreme Court where Plessy lawyer argued that the Separate Car act violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments.

**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 the name of a fellow in a popular play. "No one really knows who he is or what he does but he's a stereotypical black man and now some laws are even being nicknamed for him. He doesn't write the laws himself because he isn'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]

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Missouri ruled in 1929 that, "Separate free schools shall be established for the education of children of African descent; and it shall be unlawful for any colored child to attend any white school, or any white child to attend a colored school.” That means my smart little children can't go to the school a block down the road because of their skin. This is unfair and unjust that we have such segregation in our small Missouri community. Marriages are invalid if, "one party is a white person and the other is possessed of one-eighth or more negro, Japanese, or Chinese blood.” This law doesn't affect me much but the Smith's down the road have it hard, with her being a quarter Japanese. The new landowner SouthEast of here has recently evicted all of the Black and Asian residents. Poor old Uncle Lenard was caught in a car accident because, "White motorists have the right-of-way at all intersections." These laws just keep getting more ridiculous and out of hand.======


 * 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 is so segregated. There are different matinees showing for different races and even segregated drinking fountains. Blacks have to bear the brunt of race discrimination with a series of Southern laws being passed to degrade colored people. Black people are unjustly accused of crimes and killed without a trial. The black and white children go to segregated schools. Signs in Jim Crow America read, "For Whites Only," "Colored City Mall," and "Theater for Colored People."


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

"Two women, fearful of being prosecuted for their sexual activity aboard a train, agreed to testify that nine black youths had raped them." On a freight train a fight broke out between black and white men looking for work. Many of the white men were thrown off the train. Two women disguised as men had had relations with some of the men. Nine black males were falsely accused of rape and all but the youngest were sentenced to the death penalty. The nine became known as the the "Scottsboro boys." As a black citizen in the early 20th century I am disappointed that officials are blinded from the truth by discrimination.

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