Examples Of Jim Crow Laws In The South During The Post-Reconstruction Era

Jim Crow Laws in the South during the Post-Reconstruction Era: The Progression of African Americans in the United States Derrick Jones DC US History 3rd Period Mrs. Allison Anderson May 19, 2024

"Segregation is the adultery of an illicit intercourse between injustice and immorality." The Civil War was one of the biggest wars in American history, resulting in many different changes and laws in American life. During the Post-Reconstruction era, one of these changes was the Jim Crow laws in the South. These laws created segregation and treated African Americans like second-class citizens, as well as stripped rights from African Americans that were guaranteed to them by the Constitution. The Jim Crow era in the South was very discriminatory

If African Americans didn’t follow the rules in these segregated areas, they would be jailed, abused, or even killed. Segregation in the South started to get so bad, to the point where actual laws and rules were supporting it that would negatively affect African American communities. The most notable law was the Plessy vs. Ferguson court case ruling that ruled blacks and whites should be separate but equal.” This court case started when a mixed man named Homer Plessy seated himself in an all-white train, knowing it wasn’t permitted. The train conductor would then challenge Plessy and get him arrested for violating Louisiana’s Separate Car Act of 1980. In court, Plessy and his lawyer would try to dismiss the charge and argue that the act violated the 14th Amendment and was unconstitutional. However, it would not work when Judge John Howard Ferguson denied the request and ultimately ruled against them, further cementing “separate but equal.” This court case ruling was very significant because it legalized inequality. Even though the case ruled “separate but equal,” things were never truly equal; things like schools, washing rooms, restaurants, and housing were significantly worse in African American communities than their white counterparts. This ruling would last for over 50 years and contribute to the constant burying of African Americans' economic

The NAACP was started by civil rights activists who sought change in America and fought for racial equality, such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida Bell Wells-Barnett, Mary White Ovington, and others. The organization constantly used media, such as newspapers, magazines, photographs, and illustrations, to raise awareness for civil rights issues in African American communities. By leveraging the power of media and community organizations, the NAACP aims to educate the public and mobilize support for the advancement of civil rights for African Americans. Through countless efforts and the use of various media outlets, the NAACP started many protest movements and petitions that would advance equality and shorten the gap between races. Some of these movements led to cases that laid the groundwork for future legal challenges to segregation and contributed to the broader civil rights movement of the 20th century. One significant case the NAACP started is Brown v. Board of Education. This movement began in 1954 when a public school district in Topeka, Kansas, denied Oliver Brown’s daughter the right to enroll at the nearest school to their home and forced her to enroll at a school further away. African American children were denied educational opportunities due to racial segregation in public schools that violated the principles