For a long time, African Americans were forced into slavery and dehumanized by Caucasian for their appearance. When slavery was abolished in 1865 that didn’t stop people from separating and discriminating against Africans. Africans still couldn’t vote and were unfairly treated by people One of the many ways people discriminated against African Americans was by enforcing Jim Crow Laws, Jim Crow laws were put in action to stop African Americans from having the rights that they deserved It put restrictions on black people’s everyday life. According to White Only: Jim Crow in America, “These laws were intended to restrict social contact between whites and other groups and to limit the freedom and opportunity of people of color.”
There were many rules in The Jim crow laws that would separate people of color from white people such as black people not being allowed to play with white people Many black people and even poor white citizen couldn’t vote because of Jim Crow laws. There was a rule that required citizens to pay a poll tax for them to vote which prohibited many black Americans from voting. White Only: Jim Crow in America stated, “Beginning in the 18905, southern states enacted literacy tests, poll taxes, elaborate registration systems, and eventually whites-only Democratic Party primaries to exclude black voters,” This method worked successfully and less than half the population of African Americans that were of age to vote did. The Jim Crow Laws separated people of color from white people when came to things such as school and even using a water fountain.
According to The Education of Black Children in the Jim Crow South, “Southern schools were racially segregated Blacks and whites had to attend different schools, The separate school systems were not equali Schools for white children received more public money.” Black schools were poorly built, and students did not receive as good of an education as the Caucasian children would The Jim Crow Laws really made it hard for people of color to feel as though they were a citizen, It made discriminating against black people easier and ‘fair’. People were restricted from doing the simplest things that white people could do freely. The Jim Crow Laws was one of the biggest methods used in the 19305 to segregate black people from white people.
References
- Jim Crow History
- History – Jim Crow Laws
- Britannica – Jim Crow law
- Encyclopedia Britannica – Jim Crow Law in the United States
- National Archives – The Civil Rights Act of 1964: A Long Struggle for Freedom
- Teachinghistory.org – The Jim Crow Laws
- Civil Rights – The Impact of Segregation on African American Families