Life+in+Jim+Crow+America

The 14th amendment provided citizenship for us former slaves. Due process is a series of steps that must be taken in order to justly correct a contested issue. Equal protection of laws means that none of us colored people can be discriminated against the law for no reason. ** 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]  **  I remember that this case took place on June 7, 1892. Court was called after Homer Plessy was accused of sitting in a “white” mans’ car of a Louisiana train. Plessy was arrested for the fact that he deliberately sat in the white car and said he was black, even though he could pass for white because of his ancestors. Them Supreme Court members ruled the separate car act constitutional. They also thought that everything was allowed to be segregated as long as it was equal, this caused us to seem even more inferior. Even though Supreme Court members said the facilities in which us “blacks” used were far more disheveled. ** 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 a stereotypical black man character played by Thomas Dartmouth Rice, a white actor that wore black make-up, and sang above songs that slaves used to sing in the fields. One song was called “Jim Crow”, and soon enough he became Jim Crow himself. This name caught on, and became a new offensive name for us. Later the name became a term for laws made to oppress my kind. Jim Crow didn’t actually write the laws himself however; it was just a slang term that was used by most. ** 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]  **  Examples of Jim Crow Laws  - “Whites” were not allowed to play with us- anywhere  - Anyone an 8th or more “Black”, Chinese, or Japanese could not marry a white- Alabama  - “Whites” and “Blacks” could not attend the same school- Nebraska  These laws affected us greatly, and set us way apart from society just because of our color. We thinks the same and therefore its not fair to put us in different schools. ** 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 2]  ** Jim Crow America was a brutal section in history-
 * 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]  **

** 6) What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South? **** [|Scottsboro LINK]  **  In the Scottsboro case, 9 “black” boys were falsely accused of raping two “white” women. This case was a perfect example of the horrible treatment of the “black” race of the time. The case was started when a fight broke out between a group of “black” and “white” hobos started a scuffle on a train. After the “whites” were thrown off, the scene was reported, and the train was forced to stop early. As soon as the train arrived at its new destination, a group of officers took 9 random youths of the train, and were immediately accused of rape. The two white women that were “raped,” were dressed as boys. In the fear of conviction, they testified against the boys. After the all white jury voted, all the boys were committed to death, except for the youngest. This trial made me extremely angry. Accusing boys of sexual assault and in the end killing them all because of their race is completely un-just, and the fact that they were placed in front of only whites makes it even worse. Not many whites at the time were pals with us, and to put those boys in front of their enemies is insane. ** 7) Why should anyone care about your life during Jim Crow America? [|Why should I care? Link] **  Though not many whites cared about our lives in the Jim Crow era, we were just scum to them, I think they should’ve. We are brothers and sisters to them, and we were all put on this planet together. To treat someone like me different and worse because I am colored isn’t right. I think people now have learned from this, and in the time we live in, there is very few segregation, and when there is its by choice. Our society today is much more black approved, and looking back, without the Jim Crow era, this kind of unity may be non-existent.