Life+in+Jim+Crow+America

**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 us. The Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to and protected former slaves. Due process means that the government has to accept all the legal rights that a person is giving according to the law. Equal protection of the laws meant that, no matter the race, everyones rights will be equally protected.

**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, it was June 7, 1892. Homer Plessy was thrown in jail for sitting in the “White” car of the East Louisiana Railroad. He was a Creole Color, which means he easily could've passed as a white folk. The main reason why this would happen is because sometimes a black civil rights organization would decide to challenge the law in courts. Plessy sat in the white section and was arrested. He told everyone he was a Creole Color. He wanted to fight the law. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court where Plessy's 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]  Oh how I hated the name Jim Crow. Jim Crow was an over exaggerated Black character. When he became a common character, whites went aroun' calling all the black folks Jim Crow. It was as offensive as being called darkie or coon. Not soon enough, them whites stopped callin' us Jim Crow and started calling the laws and customs that limited us Jim Crow. Jim Crow certainly didn't write the laws, they just calls the laws Jim Crow.

One law said that a black cannot play cars, dice, dominoes, or checkers with a white person. Now this made me mad, my boy and his white friend used to play cards all the time. My boy ain't allowed to play cards with his friend any more. 'Nother law said blacks weren't allowed to attend a white school. My boy ain't gonna receive a good education if he's sent to a all black school where the books are 50 years old and the teachers can't even write. Signs popped up all 'cross town reminding us where we weren't 'llowed to go. Might as well plaster a sign on my forehead saying, "I'm not as good as them whites." How horrible, what happened to them Amendments that were supposed to protect us?
 * 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]

Jim Crow America looked.... awful. Everywhere I looked there was a reminder that I was black and blacks were inferior. Signs saying, "Blacks not allowed", were plastered everywhere. A picture of a colored man at a separate water fountain than a white man is a good picture to describe this time. 'Nother picture that shows the discrimination is a picture of an all black school. The schools run-down and awful; now ya know what my boy had to go through.
 * 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]

The Scottsboro Case was a case about nine young blacks who were accused of raping two white women. Let me tell ya, these boys did not rape them young women. This case showed me more than ever, that us blacks are treated like animals. Don't matter how much evidence they have proving them boys didn't rape the whites, they still gonna accuse the blacks. It's just easier that way; proves that we ain't equal.
 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South? ** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Scottsboro LINK]

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**<span style="font-family: Georgia,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: Georgia,serif;">[|Audio History LINK 1] <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">didn't work.