Jim+Crow

The 14th amendment gave people who used to be slaves the right to be citizens. Due process and equal protection of the laws mean that no state can make laws that take away the rights or the freedom of a citizen. It also means that the laws will protect ALL people, including African Americans.
 * 1) 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 **

** 2) 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 thrown in jail for sitting in the train car reserved for white people. Plessy was mixed and had decently white skin, but the Louisiana law declared him black. The Supreme Court decided that this did not violate the 13th and 14th amendments because it was only a legal barrier between colors. The impact of this decision was that now many separate facilities for blacks and whites started going up across the nation. Seperate but equal. ** 3) 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 used to describe the “black codes”, which took away many of the rights that had been granted to blacks through the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. Jim Crow did not actually write the laws though.

** 4) 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  **  That black and white people can’t play board and card games with each other. Blacks and whites can’t go to school together. White people can only marry white people. These laws affected me and my children. It basically told us that we were not good enough to even be in the presence of whites. Blacks cannot stand up for themselves. Blacks cannot make fun or curse at or laugh at a white person. Blacks cannot comment on the appearance of a white women.

** 5) 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 looked like an over stereotypical black who couldn’t walk very well and was wearing ripped clothes. The picture below is a movie theater that is only for colored people but seems to not be in very good condition.

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

9 black boys were falsely accused of raping two young white women in Alabama. Black and white hobos got in a fight on a train, and the black hobos threw the white hobos off the train. The authorities rounded up the black hobos but then they found two white women dressed as boys on the train. The women had actually had sexual relations with the white hobos, but fearing getting in trouble, they testified against the black hobos for rape. This made me feel bad and like I was hated even more by whites even though I didn’t do anything. ** 7) Why should anyone care about your life during Jim Crow America? ** ** Why should I care? Link **
 * People should care about our life during Jim Crow America because it made whites feel like they were too good for us and made most public places in the South segregated. **