Life+in+Jim+Crow+America

This fourteen amendment helped me and my family out a lot because anyone born in the United States was granted citizenship. Not only did this law prohibit states from denying the privileges of citizens, it also could not deprive me or any person of our life, liberty, or property (without due process of law). "Due process" of law means that no citizen will be denied their legal rights and "equal protection of the laws" means that people must be treated equally in the courts and by the government.
 *  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] **

**I remember hearing about a man named Homer Plessy being jailed for sitting in the "white" car of the East Louisiana Railroad. He was 1/8 black but could easily pass for white. A Separate Car Act was passed in 1892 legally segregating common carriers. Plessy's lawyer argued that this violated some amendments to the Constitutions, but the Supreme Court decided that it was constitutional. **
 *  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] **

Jim Crow was a song that was first performed by a white man named Rice. He was also the first actor to wear blackface makeup and portray a highly stereotypical black man. He did not write the Jim Crow laws, but his name was a negative part of them.
 *  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] **

"It shall be unlawful for a negro and white person to play together or in company with each other in any game of cards or dice, dominoes or checkers." Growing up I had a lot of great friends who were white, but because of this law I was no longer able to be friends with them. I could see them all right but we would not be able to play any of the fun games or even play in general together.
 * 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] **

"Marriages are void when one party is a white person and the other is possessed of one-eighth or more negro, Japanese, or Chinese blood." This law is extremely unfair because although I did not have intentions of marrying a white person, my friends did. It was devastating to have to have my friend leave her love behind just because he was white and could not be with her. The southern government should not be able to make these types of laws.

There were also rules that we must follow while conversing with whites. These rules were very demeaning to us and made it seem that the white were the superior.

Walking down the streets there were always signs directing us colored people where to go. We could never do anything with the white folks. "For colored people only" the signs would say.
 * 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] **



In the Scottsboro Case, nine African American boys were falsely accused of raping two white women. This was completely outrageous because they did not have any evidence! I feel like any day this kind of situation could happen to me just because of my color. Life in the South shouldn't be the way it is.
 *  6) What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South? [|Scottsboro LINK] **


 * 7) Why should anyone care about your lilfe during Jim Crow America? [|Why should I care? Link] **
 *  If people learn about our life during Jim Crow American, hopefully they can learn to look past the color of our skin and look beyond what is on the outside. I also hope that they care because what happened to us was a terrible thing and nothing like it should ever happen again. **