Jim+Crow+Life

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 14th Amendment allowed all American born people citizens; this included those of color. This amendment also stated that states must treat all people fairly and may not "deprive them of life, liberty or property without due process of law." In other words, all colored people must be tried before they can be punished. "Due process" gives you freedom of speech, the right to a trial, the right to religion, the right to vote, etc. The clause "equal Protection of the law" says that the law must be applied fairly; it is applied the same to whites as to blacks, which is a new concept. Everyone must be treated equally. However, this does not include gender.

**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 mighty clear. It was June 7, 1892 the day after Aunt Sues Birthday. My grandfather, Homer Plessy, was on the train coming home. He purposely decided to sit in the "white car"- that was against authority. He was arrested, and even jailed for sitting in the wrong train car. He carried it all the way to the supreme court and argued that it was unconstitutional, because of the 14th amendment. He wanted to take the case far to challenge authority. The U.S. supreme court ruled it constitutional because they were not discriminating; although they were separate, they were equal. The purposes of the amendments were to make colored people equal by law, but said nothing about not having class distinction. This set a precedent that separate but equal was constitutional, as long as they were equal; the colored facilities were always inferior.

**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 black man who Thomas Dartmouth Rice, an aspiring actor, saw singing a song called "Jim Crow." Rice decided to make a performance out of it by wearing burnt cork, singing this song and acting like a fool. People liked it so much that he made it all the way to New York. It soon became know all over the country and people started to use it to describe all blacks. Then people started calling the harsh laws against blacks the Jim Crow Laws.

In Alabama, whites and blacks could not play cards, dice, checkers or dominoes. My youngest son could no longer play with his white friends. In Nebraska, blacks could not marry whites. My handsome son, who was colored fell in love with a pretty white girl from Nebreaska, but they could not marry because of the Jim Crow Laws. In many states, there were separate schools for blacks and whites. My youngest boy who was school aged was forced to attend an all black school. Signs were everywhere telling us where to go and what to do.
 * 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]


 * 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]

9 African American hobos were riding the rails with a few white hobos when a fight broke out. The African american boys ended up throwing the white boys off the train. The boys thrown off the train then contacted the next train station and when the 9 boys got off, they were surrounded. 2 women dressed up as boys were also found on the train and the officials falsely accused the black boys of raping the 2 girls. Because the girls were guilty of sexual activity with the white hobos thrown off the train and feared being found out, they agreed to testify against the 9 boys. The nine boys were then executed, with the exception of the youngest who was 12.
 * What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South?** [|Scottsboro LINK]

**What do some of your friends and family say about life in Jim Crow America? (listen** to one or two)**[|Audio History LINK 1] ** Charles Gratton- he grew up with the Jim Crow Laws, but having been brought up this way, he didn't know any better and learned not to question it too much. One of his memories is when he was sick he could hear the school children not far away, but that was a white school. Instead he would have to walk 6 or seven miles, rain or shine. Thomas Christopher Columbus Chatmon- His family was a farming family, sharecropping to be exact. He remembers when he was a boy he and his father had harvested the crops. When they went to sell them, the landowner cheated them out of all their money. He and his family then had no money to help them survive the winter and feed 6 kids.