Jim Crow Laws

Time period Jim Crow laws existed

1870s-1960s

What did Jim Crow Laws do?

They segregated and demeaned (put down) African Americans

Four examples of Jim Crow etiquette between blacks and whites:

A black male could not shake hands with a white male because it implied being social equally. A black male was limited in any interactions he could have with a white female. Blacks and whites were not supposed to eat together. If they did, whites were always served first and some sort of partition was placed between them. Blacks were not allowed to show public affection toward on another in public because it offended whites.

Poll Tax

A tax that had to be paid in order to be able to vote. African Americans were almost always too poor to pay the tax.

Where were Jim Crow signs placed?

Above water fountains, door entrances and exits, and by public facilities.

What types of spaces were segregated?

Hospitals, prisons, schools, churches, cemeteries, restrooms, and other accommodations.

What were the most extreme forms of violence called?

Lynchings

Literacy Tests (Reading)

People had to prove that they good reading difficult passages in order to vote. If African Americans passed the tests, they were threatened and attacked so they would not vote.

What were two reasons that made it difficult for African Americans to vote?

Poll Tax and Literacy Tests

Lynchings

Public murders of African American men, women, and children

Jim Crow Laws

Racial segregation laws

What type of citizens were African Americans under Jim Crow?

Second-class citizens

Examples of Jim Crow laws:

Segregation of: Public Schools, spaces, and transportation Bathrooms, restaurants, and water fountains

Where did most lynchings occur?

Southern states

Why could whites physically beat blacks without punishment?

The Jim Crow criminal justice system was made up of whites: police, prosecutors, judges, juries, etc.

Why did whites claim it was okay to lynch African Americans?

They stated that African Americans were prone to violent crimes. (Meaning they were violent people)

How did black facilities compare to white facilities?

They were grossly inferior and were not well-kept. Sometimes there were no facilities.

Who was the white entertainer that created the character "Jim Crow"

Thomas Rice

What upheld the Jim Crow System?

Violence

African Americans had the worst jobs and poorest education which made it difficult to:

Vote

The Jim Crow system was made up of the following three beliefs:

Whites were superior to blacks in all ways. Sexual relations between whites and blacks would produce a mixed race which would destroy America. Violence must be used to keep blacks at the bottom of the social hierarchy.