Jim+Crow

**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** **. 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.**

**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**__]

This gave us, the African Americans full citizenship. Due process means they can on some occasions.

**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 Homer had gone to jail for sitting on a white man's train car. The decision made it all the way to the Supreme Court. The supreme court practically said that it was okay to have separate facilities, as long as they were "equal". But they weren't 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 a fictional acted character played by Thomas Dartmouth Rice. He was a singing and dancing white man dressed as a black man. He became very popular and ended up in New York. Eventually they used "Jim Crow" to describe the laws.

**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**__]

White and black people couldn't marry each other. And, Whites couldn't play poker with black people. PIus, train cars were separate, whack started the Plessy Debate. And how come we had to call them Mr., but they could just call me Will?

**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 america was promoting segregation with things like street-signs with the words like 'coloured".

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

Nine black boys were accused of raping two white women, and the court, consisting of all white men, convicted the nine boys and sentenced them to death, except for the 12 year old. But thankfully, the sentence was overturned, and the boys were let go.

**7) Why should anyone care about your lilfe during Jim Crow America?** [|__**Why should I care? Link**__]

Because the Laws were dangerous and we don't want to have anything like them again