Jim+Crow+Laws


 * 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 was created to guarentee African Americans rights and citizenship. Due process of law means straight out of the legal documents. The equal protection clause was a law giving African Americans equal rights as white people.

I remember that on June 7 1892 Homer Plessy an african american man was thrown in jail for sitting in the white car of east Louisville. Even though he had very light skin he was still african american and therefore segregated. This challenged the 14th amendment which stated that african americans were to be treated equal. SEPARATE BUT EQUAL.
 * 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 is the name that people use to describe the name of segregation laws and rules that arose after the reconstruction of 1877. Jim Crow did not write the laws.
 * 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**

Some of the specific examples of the Jim Crow laws were creating seperate schools for whites and blacks. Also African Americans were forced to sit in the backs of trains and buses while white people sat in the front. The same thing held true in resturants African Americans ate at different places just because of their skin color.
 * What are some specific examples of the Jim Crow laws from southern states? How did the laws affect you?**

In the 1900s Jim Crow America was extremly racist and segregated. African Americans were not treated equally to white people and horrific things such as lynching were very common.
 * 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**

In the late 1930s many peoples attention was focused upon the scottsboro case. Nine african americans were falsly accused of raping two white woman in Alabama.It was found that the women didnt even have sexual relations with the african american men but instead had them with some white men. Fearing prosicution they testified against the african american boys and caused their execution.
 * What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South? Scottsboro**


 * What do some of your friends and family say about life in Jim Crow America? (listen to one or two) Audio History LINK 1**Many of my close friends and family were segregated and treated with predujice. It was a very hard time for being a colored person and we were the brunt of many racial hatred. Even though most people were racist we persevered and survived.