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] The 14th Amendment guaranteed citizenship to those who were born in the United States. It was also made to protect civil liberty of previous slaves and people born in U.S. Due process are things that must be followed in order to follow the law, and the government has to do what you are told to do, which is to follow their own laws. Equal protection of the law means that you have to follow the laws for everyone and can’t pass a law that denies someone’s life, liberty, or property. They have to protect you if you are a citizen.  **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 cas**e?  [|Plessy LINK] Plessy was a black man with lighter skin tones, who traced back to some French and Spanish ancestors. He sat in the “white” area of a train, and was put in jail when he was caught. They passed a law called the Separate Car Act and this was sent to the Supreme Court by those who were fighting for black civil rights. The Supreme Court decided that it was constitutional to pass that act. Some agreed with this, while others did not at all. The impact of this was that the new idea of segregated areas spread all over the public from school to buses and restrooms to theatres.  **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 character, played by Rice, that starred in a play. He was a complete stereotype of what an African American would look like. Over time Jim Crow became a big character in plays, and was soon being used as a name against blacks, and even though it was bad, it wasn't the worst. No, a man named Jim Crow did not write the laws, but the laws against blacks that involved them were known as Jim Crow 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] A lot of laws were passed that were based off of segregated areas and such. There were laws passed about education- where African Americans could go, ect, hospitals- who could treat African Americans, Prisons- where they could go, marrige’s- colored people could not marry whites, transportation- what they could and could not take and public accomidations. These laws affected us in many ways- from our daily lives to things that we only used once in a while. Like the buses, we use those a lot and we have to sit in the back and for children having to go to different schools. These affected us in great ways, that were not good.  **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] America in the 1900s was marked by signs that said things like "Colored" water fountains. Even though most movie theaters admitted both blacks and whites, they would segregate the audience with blacks sitting in the upper balconies. Blacks would also be thrown off of railcars after the implementation of Jim Crow laws. **What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South?** [|Scottsboro LINK] The Scottsboro Case was a case where 9 African American boys were falsely charged with raping two white women. The 9 boys were traveling on the railroad, looking for work just as some white boys were doing. A fight broke out and the train was stopped at the next station. When the boys were about to be charged with assault, 2 white women were discovered hiding in the train, wearing men's clothing. Instead of being arrested for having sexual relations with the white boys on the train, the women decided to testify that the 9 black boys raped them. All but the youngest boy was sentenced to death. This decision outraged many people, including many African Americans and led to much protest. **What do some of your friends and family say about life in Jim Crow America? (listen to one or two)** [|Audio History LINK 1]