Jim+Crow+Life+Assignment

The 14th amendment granted citizenship to former slaves, like me. Due process means that we have a right to a fair trial. Equal protection of the laws means that everyone, even us African Americans, had to be treated the same under the law.
 * 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? **

** 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? ** The supreme court was obviously discriminatory in its decision to declare segregated train cars as constitutional! Louisiana had no right to arrest Plessy just because he was sitting in a “white” car! This case allowed for many other facilities to become segregated.This case coined the term "Separate but equal".

** 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 was a stereotypical black man who was played by “Daddy” Rice at a New York theater. Eventually the Jim Crow character came to represent us and the Black Codes.

** 4) What are some specific examples of the Jim Crow laws from southern states? How did the laws affect you? ** We were not allowed to hold hands with our black husbands on the street because the Jim Crow laws said that we were not allowed to show affection in public. Another said that a black male could not shake hands or even touch a white woman or else he would be accused of rape.  ** 5) What did Jim Crow America look like in the 1900s? What are some images that can help explain the realities of the time? ** It looked very separated; there were many signs on buildings saying whether they were for us or for whites. This picture right about sums up the discrimination in the Jim Crow laws. ** 6) What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South? ** Well the Scottsboro Case is particularly sad to think about. The case was that nine young blacks kids were accused of raping two white women on a train while the women were disguised as men. They had no proof except for the false testimonies of the two women. It made me so angry that all were convicted, thankfully none were sent to the death penalty. This case just helped point out the major discrimination going on in the U.S.

** 7) Why should anyone care about your life during Jim Crow America? ** They should care about what happened to us because the need to learn not to be discriminatory because it is very hurtful and wrong. By caring and learning about this time period they will see how truly wrong discrimination is.