Student Article
Jim Crow Laws: America’s Era of Racial Segregation
Minstrel (noun): A performer in a show featuring racist portrayals of Black people, often in blackface.
Disenfranchised (adjective): Denied certain rights or opportunities — especially the right to vote or to fully participate in society.
Legitimize (verb): To make something seem acceptable, legal, or officially recognized.
Institutionalized (verb): Made a normal and accepted part of a system, often unjustly.
The Jim Crow era in the United States lasted from the end of Reconstruction in the 1870s to the civil rights movement in the 1960s. This system of racial segregation was rooted in white supremacy and used laws, violence, and fear to suppress African-American rights.
The origin of the name "Jim Crow"
The name "Jim Crow" originated from a racist minstrel character created by white performer Thomas "Daddy" Rice in the 1820s. His blackface performances spread damaging stereotypes and eventually lent their name to segregation laws across the U.S.
Laws that kept Black people from voting
After slavery was abolished in 1865, Southern states passed "Black Codes" to control newly freed African Americans. These evolved into Jim Crow laws around 1877, when white Democrats regained power in the South. Despite the protections of the 14th and 15th Amendments, Black Americans were disenfranchised through poll taxes, literacy tests, and "grandfather clauses" that favored white voters.
Violence used to enforce Jim Crow laws
White supremacist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, enforced racial hierarchies through terror. Lynchings became a horrifying symbol of Jim Crow violence; over 4,700 were recorded between 1882 and 1968, most targeting black individuals.
The Plessy v. Ferguson ruling and segregation
In 1896, Plessy v. Ferguson legitimized segregation by introducing the “separate but equal” doctrine. It allowed legal segregation of schools, transportation, restaurants, and more — though facilities for Black Americans were almost always inferior.
Everyday life under Jim Crow
Everyday life under Jim Crow was deeply unjust. In some states, Black people couldn't play games like dominoes with white people, or even be cut the hair of white women. Interracial marriage was banned. Black drivers had to yield to white ones. These laws institutionalized racial inequality in nearly every aspect of public and private life.
African Americans fight back
Despite the harsh conditions, Black Americans resisted. The NAACP, founded in 1909, led legal and political battles. Journalist Ida B. Wells campaigned against lynching. Cultural icons like Louis Armstrong and Hattie McDaniel succeeded in the arts, while athletes like Jackie Robinson broke racial barriers.
The turning point: Brown v. Board of Education
The turning point came with the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which ruled segregated public schools unconstitutional. This ruling, followed by Rosa Parks’ protest in 1955 and the rise of Martin Luther King Jr., marked the beginning of the end for Jim Crow.
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Minstrel (noun): A performer in a show featuring racist portrayals of Black people, often in blackface.
Disenfranchised (adjective): Denied certain rights or opportunities — especially the right to vote or to fully participate in society.
Legitimize (verb): To make something seem acceptable, legal, or officially recognized.
Institutionalized (verb): Made a normal and accepted part of a system, often unjustly.