Life+in+Jim+Crow+America

=** Life In Jim Crow America **= = = 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, if you have one) 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]

The Fourteenth Amendment was one of the three amendments that were towards African Americans. The Thirteenth abolished slavery and the Fifteenth Amendment guaranteed black men the right to vote. The Fourteenth Amendment was added to the Constitution after the Civil war to specifically guarantee African American rights. Due process guarantees each indivdual the right to a trial and to have an attorney they cannot just be arrested, convicted and sent to jail. Equal protection of the laws gives every citizen the same protection and rights under our laws no one can be discriminated against based upon gender, religion or race. 
 * __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]

On June 7, 1892 Homer Plassy, a black civil right organizer, decided to challenge the Louisiana law. He sat in a “White” car of the East Louisiana Railroad even though he was still considered black under Louisiana law. Homer could have easily passed for being white because of his light complexion, but he was still was required to sit in the “Colored” car. African Americas who were just like Homer Plassy were called Creole of Color because they had a trace of ancestry all the way back from the French, Spanish, and Caribbean settlers of Louisiana in New Orleans before it became part of the United States. Such a crime went all the way to the Supreme Court and from there Plassy’s lawyer stated that the Separate Car Act violated the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendment. The final decision was that “separate” facilities were constitutional as long and they were “equal”.

**__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 Rice was an actor who was going to perform at th Park Theater in New York. He happened to be listening to a song that had the name Jim Crow in it. Accounts have said that the character Jim Crow was either a old slave who walked with difficulty or he was a black stable boy. This specific song was very influential to Rice that whne he appeared on stage doing one of his solo skits as the character, he played it very stereotypical and over exaggerated. Rice became a very rich man from just doing this part. No, specifically Jim Crow did not write these 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, the Jim Crow law that was towards education was that the small white and black children were not allowed to be taught at the same school, but impartial provisions must be made by both. The second law that has affected the people in Florida is all marriages between a white person and an African Americans or between a white person and a person of African American descent to the fourth generation is hereby prohibited to live in Florida. Another law goes with the transportation in Florida, specifically towards the cars in the train. White folks are to be in the cars called “For White” and the African Americans are to be in the cars labeled “For Colored”.

__**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]

In the 1930s there was a case called the Scottsboro Boys, it was a case that gained the world’s attention. It was a case that featured nine black boys that were falsely charged with raping two other white women. A group of white and blacks were riding the rails to see if they could find work. A fight broke loose and the white hobos were thrown off the train. A report was sent out bringing dozens of armed men who arrested the nine boys. There was no evidence regarding the women being raped by them, but no matter because in the end they were all charged of raping them. The case was held in Scottsboro, Alabama were all 8 boys, except the youngest who was 12 years old, was sentenced to death. Such a decision made me so mad that I decided to take it out to the streets. Other members, including me, of the Communist Party USA took charge and of the case and did a two-fold battle, in the court and out on the streets.
 * __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="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">T.R Davidson: <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He stated that he defiantly knew who Jim Crow was, what it meant, and thought he was well adapted to it. He knew how to function in the areas where he was raised in North Carolina and was able to perform in a reasonable comfortable style. He has always been telling the young people that there will come time were you will be in a certain area were you will meet certain types of people and those type of people might make you feel conscious of the fact that they might not be trustworthy. Don’t let those certain type of people prevent you from learning or experiencing things that you want to witness or to follow your dreams of your own future.