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 Notebook. 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 . You can do this in Word by copying this document onto a new document , completing it using the resources below, and cutting and pasting it into a new page on your notebook. Make sure your responses are in first person! **

The 14th amendment gave civil liberties to us free slaves. It did this by making all US born citizens unable to be denied rights. It provided a chance of hope and true freedom for all of us. Due process is denying a person their rights, which used to happen a lot to us. Finally, equal protection of the laws basically says that no person can be deprived of their natural rights, liberty, property,
 * 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] **

In the Plessy V Ferguson case, I remember that Plessy was, unfortunately, arrested for sitting in the "white" car of the train. I recall that Plessy's lawyer argued that the segregation violated the 13th and 14th amendments. The descision, as PBS says, "set the precedent that separate facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were equal." This is horrible, and so bad, because the government went against itself, contradicting the 13 and 14th amendments. I hate this decision, and disrespect it, because it had a bad negative impact, making segregated facilities more common, and "okay"
 * 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 HATE Jim Crow laws. Crow was actually Thomas Rice, who wrote a song titled, "Jim Crow". He was an actor who used dark makeup, to appear on stage as an African American: Jim Crow. It was terribly racist. None of the laws were written by him, but he was an influence on the laws. Jim Crow was a new slang for us African Americans, which was really offensive. Jim Crow had a bad impact on the world, and helped give us blacks a negative connotation, as lazy, boring workers.
 * 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 Laws LINK 1]  / [|Jim Crow Laws LINK 2] / <span style="background-color: initial; color: #001ee6; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">[|Jim Crow Laws LINK 3] / ****[|Jim Crow Laws Link 4]** = These Jim Crow laws were just terrible! some of them were laws such as restrictions from busses, trains, hospitals, restaraunts, pool rooms, bathrooms, mirage, barbers, burials, sports, parks, schools, other education, housing, and theaters. They were all just so terrible. They impacted me negatively, and made me feel insignificant and unwanted. The laws made us look like animals, with the signs that say, "no dogs or Negroes". We were so segregated, despite the freedoms attempted in the 13th and 14th amendments. I personally think that the education restrictions were the worst. All people, despite of race, deserve a great education.
 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">4) What are some specific examples of the Jim Crow laws from southern states? How did the laws affect you? Which on edo you feel is the worst? **

**<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">Jim Crow America in the 1900s was very segregated and was often the world of two realities, black and white. The pictures that show the times best are those that show segregation and racialism. Blacks like me were often depicted as lazy and stupid and because of this prejudice, was very hard for me to get a job. Pictures that show lynching are painfully accurate an really help show the reality of the times. **
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">5) 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="background-color: initial; color: #6e1a7e; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">[|Jim Crow Images LINK 1] ****<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">/ ****<span style="background-color: initial; color: #001ee6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">[|Jim Crow Images LINK 2] **


 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">6) What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South? ****<span style="background-color: initial; color: #001ee6; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">[|Scottsboro LINK] **

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;"> The things I remember about the Scottsboro case are numerous. Nine white boys who were riding the train near Scottsboro got into a fight with a group of white hobos, which resulted in the whites being kicked off the train. The whites then reported this to policeman, who were about to charge the men with assault, when two women were discovered. The men were charged with sexual harassment falsely, and they were all put to death, except for the youngest, who was twelve. It made me feel angry to know that blacks in the south were treated so barbarously, and just plain mad.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13pt;">7) Why should anyone care about your lilfe during Jim Crow America? [|Why should I care? Link] **
 * <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">People should care about life during Jim Crow America because racial segregation is just part of the story and explains one power that whites wielded over that huge chunk of time. It also is important because Jim Crow life played an important role in the shaping of our country and generally contributed to many different aspects of life. We need to look at the causes of the segregation, wit ****<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">h the underlying motives being important to our study of today. **