jimcrow

**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 was supposed to provide citizenship and protect civil liberties of me a recently freed slave.. The "due process" means that I cannot lose property that I own without consent from the government. They just can't come up to me and say that they are taking the land that I claim. Equal Protection of the laws means that every person no matter race or gender deserve the same court case or same process of law..

**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] Plessy could have been considered white because he had a light complexion. He was sitting in the "white car" and was required to sit in the "colored car". His lawyer argued that the Separate Car Act was violating the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments. One of the judges proclaimed that the constitution of the United States was color-blind, meaning that there was no part that concernded me. The decision was that the Separate Car Act was actually constitutional and that African Americans have to sit in a different car then white people. The separate but equal doctrine became widely used throughout the south. many aspects of public life became separate. This meant that I couldn't go to a water fountain and drink from the same one as a white person did.

**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 a name that was used to describe the segregation laws and customs during and after the reconstruction period. Jim Crow could not have written any laws because his name was only used to describe certain laws and customs.

"It shall also be the duty of said board of education to make arrangements for the instruction of the children of the white and colored races in separate schools." This meant that the board of the education in the county decided where the students went to school. If they were a colored child they would go to a different school than a white child. I would be forced to go to a school for colored people. "Marriages are void when one party is a white person and the other is possessed of one-eighth or more negro, Japanese, or Chinese blood.” This meant that all marriages have to be between the same race. This laws affected me because I was very limited to going to an all African-American school. I was forced to take the back seat in the bus, the very last car on trains and different bathrooms. I could only marry an African-American woman.
 * What are some specific examples of the Jim Crow laws from southern states? How did the laws affect you?** [|Jim Crow Laws LINK 1] / <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Jim Crow Laws LINK 2] / <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Jim Crow Laws LINK 3]

<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">Jim Crow looked like a normal African- American. He was often portrayed getting kicked out of a section he wasn't supposed to be in. In one picture he is getting talked to by the conductor probably being told to move to the back or get arrested. I think this image really helps to explain the times of Jim Crow because we can see him sitting among the white people in the first car of the train.
 * What did Jim Crow America look like in the 1900s? What are some images that can help explain the realities of the time?** __<span style="color: rgb(129, 0, 129);">Jim Crow Images LINK 1 __/ <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Jim Crow Images LINK 2]

<span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">In the Scottsboro case nine black youths were charged falsely for raping two woman. It started back when a group of black and white hobos where starting to fight. There were two women who were dressed as men on the train. There was no evidence to connect the boys to the girls but they were still falsely charged with rape. All the boys excepted the youngest were killed after an all white jury convicted them. THIS MADE ME ENRAGED! The boys had nothing to do with the two women but they were still charged for raping. A few of them were retried and one of them were found guilty even though the judge wasn't happy with what happened.
 * What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South?** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Scottsboro LINK]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**What do some of your friends and family say about life in Jim Crow America? (listen to one or two)** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Audio History LINK 1] <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">There was a curfew for blacks at 9:30 for normal blacks. At 10:30 educated blacks had to go inside. <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">If you were found outside after you curfew, for me it was 10:30, you had to a a written approval from the police chief. If you committed a lesser crime you would be forced to go and work as a community worker. If you worked for a white person he would come and get you out of jail and make you work for him.