THE PLAGUE OF JIM CROW - 9th Grade



THE PLAGUE OF JIM CROW

By JASMIN K. WILLIAMS

The Jim Crow symbol was an insulting racial stereotype.

"White" and "colored" only signs littered the South during the Jim Crow era.

February 13, 2009

From the 1850s to the early 1960s, "Jim Crow" laws ruled the South and devastated the lives of African-Americans. Here's a brief look at the ugliest period of American history.

Jim Crow got its name in 1830 when minstrel show performer Thomas "Daddy" Rice appeared onstage in blackface made from burnt cork and charcoal, dancing a jig and singing. The Jim Crow character became a staple in minstrel shows and a degrading symbol for blacks.

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 protected the rights of African-Americans and helped usher in a short-lived era of prosperity. Former slaves began establishing their own churches, businesses, schools and communities. They could now vote and own property.

Those in the South wanted to end Congressional Reconstruction for fear of seeing former slaves prospering right under their noses. The Compromise of 1877 gave the presidency to Rutherford B. Hayes in exchange for him ending Reconstruction. Freed slaves were now on their own, without government protection. An ugly era - rooted in fear and hatred - had begun.

Jim Crow meant legal segregation. Blacks could now legally be treated in any way, without reprieve.

The late 1800s through 1960 saw the most vicious cruelty. Lynchings, or public hangings, happened as often as twice a week. These mob crimes became spectator events with women and children in attendance. Victims were often tortured and mutilated before being killed. Victims were sometimes burned alive to the cheers of happy murderers. It didn't take much to get lynched - a wrong look, misinterpreted gesture or mere speculation was enough. Nearly 4,000 African- American men women and children were lynched.

Additionally, the racist group, the Ku Klux Klan also called the "night riders," terrorized blacks, bombing their homes and churches, burning fiery crosses and lynching them at will. The government did nothing to stop it.

African-Americans endured routine insults, but with the fear of violence and death always near, many "turned the other cheek" to survive.

By the mid 1900s, however, thousands were fed up and they fled the South and headed north to escape. This was called the Great Migration. Between 1916 and 1918 alone, more than 400,000 African-Americans came to cities like Chicago, New York and Philadelphia.

But many chose to stay and fight the Jim Crow laws. Race riots

erupted all across the country. In 1919, so many people were killed in riots that it was called Red Summer.

In the 1930s and '40s, President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife, Eleanor, championed civil rights, but Jim Crow held fast. As a result, many African-Americans now joined the Democratic Party.

A great victory came in 1954 with Thurgood Marshall's win in the Brown vs. the Board of Education case. This supreme court case marked the end of legal segregation in pubic schools.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. emerged as the leader of the second reconstruction, or civil rights movement. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 legally and effectively put an end to Jim Crow. Slowly, the "white" and "colored" only signs came down. A 100-year period of legalized terror was over.

Is Jim Crow really dead? Though the law is legally buried, racial wounds sadly still haunt our country. African-Americans and other minorities continue a daily fight for quality education, jobs, housing and complete social and economic equality.

Terms to know:

1. Jim Crow Laws:

2. The Civil Rights Act of 1866

3. Compromise of 1877

4. Ku Klux Klan also called the "night riders

5. Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965

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