JimCrowLife

Jim Crow Life- 5/5/09
 * **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 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]

It provided us negroes and everyone who was born here the rights of citizenship to this nation. The "due process" is the right to a fair trial in court to legally resolve matters. Equal protection of the laws mean that whites and us blacks and everyone else in a community would be treated the same way.


 * 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]

This case was about Mr. Homer Plessy who was jailed for sitting on a white rail car. He could have passed as either a white or Negro but purposefully chose to sit in the white section and claim he was black. The Supreme Court said that the 14th amendment only guaranteed equality under the law and even if it applied everywhere else the facilities could be separate as long as they were equal. This allowed many facilities such as restaurants and stores to separate their facilities legally as long as they were equal.


 * 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 the name of a black man who sang his song in public and Mr. Thomas Dartmouth "Daddy" Rice heard him and created a character which he used in his short skits. This man never wrote any laws, his name was just used as a slang term for our people and it caught along with the "black codes".


 * 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]

We had many laws for us in the southern states that controlled the segregation of the time. They decided who we could marry, where we went to school, and where we sat in public transportation vehicles. So basically they controlled our entire way of life out in public.


 * 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 was a bad time for us. Everywhere you looked, there was segregation no matter the age. Them white folks had it much better off considering that they had the government spend three times as much on them. Some powerful images of the time were the signs everywhere that said either "whites only" or "colored people", but you never saw a restroom or drinking fountain with no sign.


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

Nine boys traveling on a train got into a fight with some white hobos and then when the hobos got kicked off the train the reported the kids for raping two of the white women. These boys were convicted and all sentenced to death except the youngest who was 12. All 'round the country, especially in the North, there were protests and the country was outraged so the Supreme Court overturned its decision. It made us feel that we had no rights down here because if we tried to protect ourselves we would be charged with a crime and go to jail.


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

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