The Jim Crow Laws

THE JIM CROW LAWS

A- Who/what was Jim Crow ?

Jim Crow appeared in 1836 : it was , originally, the caricature of a malicious and stupid black man. This caricature was created by white people to amuse them.

In time, the  expression Jim Crow laws , came to refer to the segregation laws that were applied in the southern states of the USA ;

B- What were they ? How do we define them ?

The Jim Crow laws were the laws that defined and established racial segregation. Every aspect of black people’s daily life was segregated. These laws advocated the principle of SEPARATE BUT EQUAL ; In other words, there were different hospitals, schools, universities and even cemeteries. Coloured people had to use different toilet, drinking fountains, waiting-rooms. Parks, cinemas, theaters, public transports were segregated.

In order to keep black vote at a minimum, literacy tests had to be passed by coloured people and things were arranged so that they would fail , thus depriving them of the ability to register on voting lists.

C- When did they appear ?

They appeared in the wake of the American civil war.(1860-1865)

In 1865, black slaves were emancipated : they were free , moreover, they were in theory, given the same rights as whites.

The Jim Crow laws appeared not even a decade later : they were a rigid system of laws that established the American version of apartheid. They aimed to deprive blacks from exercising their new rights and newly acquired freedom.

The period betwween the late 1860s and the mid 1960s became known as : the era of Jim Crow.

D- What were the consequences of these laws ?

-Because every aspect of their life was segregated, black people , in the late 1880s and early 1890s, started to campaign to denounce lynchings and mob violence, they also acted to try and secure voting rights. They also started to organize their own communites, with their own shops, schools and churches.

White supremacist groups gained power : by 1919, the Ku Klux Klan and its ideology became national movements and appeared invincible. Race-related mob violence rose/grew and became more horrific.

- This , However, did not dissuade blacks : they continued to battle and used the power of the media and the power of the courts of justice to pursue their quest fro freedom and equality. This culminated with the CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT ;

Conclusion

the story of Jim Crow is the story of the rise and fall of an ideology. Black people achieved triumphs in spite of terror and made the USA a better place, not just for themselves, but for everyone.