Life+in+Jim+Crow+America

** 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. ** 
 * 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. **

**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 citzenship me. It provided a sense of safety as states could not deprive me of my life, property, or freedom without due process of law. Due process is the principale that the government must recognize and respect all legal rights owed to a person. Equal protection of the laws is the right that everyone must be treated equally by the laws and courts.

**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" section of a car. He could pass for a white with his light complexion, but he deliberately sat in the "white" section and then identified himself as a black. The decision was that the separate sections were constitutional if they were equal. The sections were not always equal; many "colored" facilities were in poor condition. The result of this decision was that this policy was extended to cover public areas such as restaurants and water fountains.

**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]

Thomas Dartmouth "Daddy" Rice, an actor, saw a black person singing these lyrics: //"Come listen all you galls and boys, I'm going to sing a little song, My name is Jim Crow. Weel about and turn about and do jis so, Eb'ry time I weel about I jump Jim Crow."//

Later on, Rice appeared on stage using the name Jim Crow as a stereotypical black character. Jim Crow quickly became a racial slur. 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]

In Florida, schools were segregated and the books were kept separate. I did not get the new, nice books that the whites got for school. In Oklahoma, telephone booths were divided into white and colored. Sometimes, when I would need to make a call, there might be a long line in the colored booth and I was not allowed to use the empty white booth. Another law was that white motorists got the priority at intersections. This meant that I would have to wait for a long time before turning. All of the laws made me feel inferior to whites, and the media helped with this stereotype.


 * 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]

Whites looked at us with contempt. Lynching was portrayed as a horrible thing. Signs on almost every public building designated it as either white or colored. Black children were forced to walk to school if they didn't live close enough. Some images look at the depressing side of the time, and other images show whites as the superiors.


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

Nine black children were falsely charged with raping two white women. There was no evidence connecting the African Americans to the women, but the women testified against the teens anyways. All of the boys were sentenced to death except for the 12 year old. As an African American in the South, I was terrified to even walk near a white for fear that walking on the same street would land me in 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]

The movie seats were separate; African Americans had to sit upstairs even when the seats downstairs for whites were unoccupied. They feel it is unfair and cruel. White children believed in the Jim Crow lives strongly. White doctors did not feel the urge to hurry up and get to the black patient, so as a result many died before the white doctor could arrive there hours later.