Life+In+Jim+Crow+America


 * 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] It provided more physical and mental security for African Americans. The due process of law means using the laws fairly and not bending them. “Equal protection of the laws” means that they get the same privileges with defense against the laws or in some examples, court cases. **


 * 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] A light-skinned male sat in a white box car instead of the “colored” box car. Even though Plessy could pass for white, he was required to sit in the “colored” car under the Louisiana law. He was arrested and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court. **


 * 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 name in a song sung by a black male. **** Written by Thomas Dartmouth "Daddy" Rice. Rice was an actor and appeared on stage as “Jim Crow” a stereotypically exaggerated black character. He wore black face paint and did dances imitating African-Americans. **


 * 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] The laws made me feel inferior and I was also wasn’t able to have the same equal privileges of whites. **


 * 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] Some images are signs of colored only signs that tell us that we aren’t good enough to be even in the same room as whites. The depiction of a black male character is demeaning because that’s not how we really are. **


 * 6) What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South? [|Scottsboro LINK] 9 black youths were obviously falsely accused of raping two white women. They were accused when the 2 white women decided to rather same themselves, and blame their wrong-doings on the group of African-American males. **


 * 7) Why should anyone care about your life during Jim Crow America? [|Why should I care? Link] I believe that you should care about my life because **** my remembrance, struggle, **** could possibly save your life. African-Americans have a history of being oppressed, and we have a history of manually lessening the oppression. We never gave up hope for freedom and equality. **