Brown+Vs.+Board+5-6

**You and your partner are African Americans who have lived through the era of Jim Crow in America. Using the links provided in this activity, respond to the “oral history questions” in first person. ** 
 * To set the stage for the civil rights movement, you must first understand the environment of segregation in the United States in the first half of the 20th century. What was life like in Jim Crow America? Cut and paste this information into a new page in your Unit 8 Online ISN. **

**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 amendments provided us citizenship and equal rights even if we were once enslaved. Due process means that we now have all the same rights that whites do under the law. Equal protection of the laws means that all laws are the same for both blacks and whites. Both of these work towards equal rights amongst blacks and whites.

**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] In the Plessy v. Ferguson case, Plessy was jailed for sitting in a "white" car of the East Louisiana Railroad after being told to move.Plessy deliberately remained in the white section and called himself black even though he could easily pass for a white man. He was arrested afterward and the case went to the Supreme Court. Louisiana train cars were segregated after Louisiana passed the Separate Car Act. In supreme court Plessy's lawyer argued that this Separate Car Act violated the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments. Plessy lost the case. The case set the precedent that separate facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were equal.

**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] A struggling new york actor heard a song from a black person and named the song Jim Crow. This struggling actors name was Thomas Dartmouth Rice. In one of his performances in 1828, he appeared as Jim Crow, a highly stereotypical black character. His act became very famous and created some stereotypes for us, blacks. By 1838 "Jim Crow" became a racial slur. The use of "Jim Crow" did not last long though. Instead of being used as a name for blacks, the phrase Jim Crow was being used to describe laws and customs that oppressed blacks. Rice didn't write the laws, but he was the origin of the phrase Jim Crow which is used to describe the laws that are against blacks.

In Louisiana there is an education law stating that blacks and whites are to be taught in segregated schools. This affected me because I had to go to a special school with only blacks. It is against the law for white nurses to help blacks in hospitals, also. Blacks were not even allowed to marry and white person if they are one-eight black.
 * 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]

In the South, Jim Crow America looked like segregation, racism and discrimination. There were segregated places for blacks like theaters and there was even lynching going on. There were also many poor people in run-down homes.
 * 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]

At the Scottsboro Case, nine black youths were charged for the rape of two women. It began on a train when the blacks got into a fight with some white hobos. The whites were kicked off the train, and reported the incident to the police. The train was later stopped and the nine men were taken to jail. This made us feel hated and discriminated.
 * What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South?** <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[|Scottsboro LINK]

<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">**What do some of your friends and family say about life in Jim Crow America? (listen to one or two)** <span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">[|Audio History LINK 1] Some of my friends and family agree with me on how life in Jim Crow America affected black people. Many stereotypes and racist comments were directed towards black people. It was a hard time for blacks, but many people, hopefully, now realize that many stereotypes were not true and that racism is wrong.