Freedom in Chains
The Jim Crow Laws
The Jim Crow laws were a set of laws that segregated the.South well into the twentieth century. The name “Jim Crow” comes from a fictional African American character that mocked of African Americans on stage (Perritano 21). Usually, a white man would paint his face black and make a fool of himself, implying that African Americans were ignorant, and foolish. The Jim Crow Laws governed the south from 1877-1954 (Perritano 20), they segregated everything, forcing blacks into smaller train cars, schools, restaurants, theaters, streetcars, playgrounds, hospitals, and even cemeteries (Davidson, James West., Pedro G. Castillo, and Michael B. Stoff.). They ensured that, even though African Americans were free, they still did not have the same rights as white southerners.
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In the case of Plessy vs Ferguson, it was deemed legal to segregate races as long as the facilities were equal (Davidson, James West., Pedro G. Castillo, and Michael B. Stoff.). However, facilities intended for African Americans were usually smaller and were given much less attention than white facilities. Some black schools in the south did not have a building, let alone paper or books (Perritano 20). In Alabama (The Constitutional Convention in Alabama 1901) delegates specifically stated that the laws passed were created to limit African Americans and their rights in society (Slavery by Another Name), therefore proving that whites generally did not have a valid reason to segregate the African Americans. The Southern legislatures did everything in their power to ensure that African Americans remained as segregated as possible; therefore dehumanizing them and making them seem like a lesser man.