Jim+Crow+Life


 * Life in Jim Crow America

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.

**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 to 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]

That Jim Crow guy wasn't a real person, actually he was a character from what I remember. He was played by this "Rice" guy, a white man that put dark makeup on. That "Rice" guy said he get the idea from a slave, like me. The slave was singing a song that in it said "My name is Jim Crow". Most people use the word Jim Crow to describe the laws and customs which oppressed blacks. So no, Jim Crow did not write the laws.


 * 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]

There are many of these laws but here are a couple I really don't like:

Negros and Whites are not allowed to play together in games of cards, dice, dominoes, or checkers.

Leave when someone is 1/8 or more Negro, Japanese, or Chinese blood.

The laws affected me in many many ways. I had to stay clear of whites or I could get in trouble. Also, you can't go to school with any whites. If you don't stay away from them, you can get in big trouble.


 * 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 hard time. I can remember having to drink from a certain water fountain or go to a certain movie theater. We would have to go in the worst areas, while the white kids were at the front of the movie theater we were and the back upstairs and sometime we even paid more then them. I can just remember it as a hard time, blacks and whites were very different back then.


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

The Scottsboro Case was the injustice of accusing nine young black men of raping two white women. Out of the nine, eight were sentenced to death. I found it an outrage, scandalous, and discriminatory to my race. I knew that conditions weren't so well that we were treated as equals, but the Scottsboro case showed me how unjust "justice" really was. And the sad part is that that was normal.

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

The Audio History didn't work for Adan, nor Matt.