Life+In+Jim+Crow+America

The 14th amendment gave enslaved people citizenship. Due process and equal protection of laws meant that blacks should get the protection of the laws. In this case Homer Plessy a light skinned black from Louisiana sat in the white car on a train. His case went to the Supreme Court but he lost. This set the stage for separate white and black things would be legal as long as they were equal. Jim Crow was a character in minstrel plays portraying a black guy. He didn’t write the laws. Us blacks couldn’t use the same water fountains, go to the same schools, play games and many more activities with white people. Jim Crow America was very segregated. 9 Black men in were falsely charged of raping two white women on train. All of the men except the youngest were sentenced to death. As a black in the south it made me feel like I had absolutely no say if I were put on trial. It shows white people what we went through to get the amount of respect and equality we deserve to receive today.
 * 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? [|14th LINK] **
 * 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? [|Plessy LINK] **
 * 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 LINK] **
 * 4) 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] **
 * 5) 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] **
 * 6) What happened in the Scottsboro Case? How did it make you feel as an African American in the South? [|Scottsboro LINK] **
 * 7) Why should anyone care about your life during Jim Crow America? [|Why should I care? Link]**