AP+2014+Jim+Crow+Laws

Historical- Jennifer Ramirez Between 1877 and 1960 there blacks were separated from whites through Jim Crow Laws. Jim Crow Laws are laws that, “...enforced racial segregation in the South…” (Jim Crow Law). Whites felt that they were superior to the backs because the were unintelligent and violent. In order to restrain the rights of black people they controlled every aspect of their lives from voting to transportation. In order to account for what they were doing they they started to make separate but equal facilities for whites and blacks. These facilities were vastly different with white people having the best accommodations whilst black people often were left with old and rundown facilities. These laws were not only upheld through the justice system but blacks were often left to be dealt with in violent way. The “Lynch Law” came from these violent upholding of the laws. During this time, “Most of the victims of Lynch Law were hanged or shot, but some were burned at the stake, castrated, beaten with clubs, or dismembered” (Pilgrim). The threat of breaking these laws or speaking against them kept blacks as second-class citizens for nearly 100 years.

"Jim Crow Law (United States [1877-1954])." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. Pilgrim, Dr. David. Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. Ferris State University, Sept. 2000. Web. 10 October 2013.

Cultural- Natalie Quintero The Jim Crow Laws were implemented years ago when racial segregation was increasingly common. Although the Jim Crow Laws have been abolished since then, some racial stereotypes still exist within the criminal justice system. Because of these common branding of black people in these times, they are “trapped by a criminal justice system that has forever branded them as felons and denied them basic rights,” (Alexander & West). These events help the author portray to the audience how the Jim Crow Laws have still affected modern culture, even though they became inactive years ago. The effects of these mass incarcerations have deeply impacted the lives of these people and taken away the rights that the civil rights movement restored upon these people. Even voting rights have been revoked from black people in the modern world today. This is the epitome of how the Jim Crow Laws still have an indirect impact on black people today, especially since “more than 108,000 New Yorkers are currently disenfranchised under the law. And 80% of those who have lost the right to vote are people of color,” (Wood). In conclusion, even though the Jim Crow Laws were abolished years ago, the effects of these laws can still be felt today in modern society and culture.

Alexander, Michelle. "Legal Scholar: Jim Crow Still Exists In America." NPR. N.p., 16 Jan. 2012. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. Wood, Erika. "Brennan Center for Justice." NY's Jim Crow Laws--back in the Day, and What Remains Today. New York University School of Law, 10 March 2010. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.



Aim- Olivia Diaz The Jim Crow laws were put in place during the Reconstruction Era with the aim to continue to put blacks into a lower class and feel inferior to the white people. The laws “enforced racial segregation in the South”(Jim Crow Law) in order to support the aim of the laws. “The Supreme Court helped undermine the Constitutional protections of blacks with the infamous Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) case, which legitimized Jim Crow laws and the Jim Crow way of life” (Pilgrim). With the Plessy v. Ferguson case, the government allowed for the Jim Crow laws to be accepted by society by making people believe that blacks could be treated as second class citizens. It allowed for the public to believe that whites were better. Not only did the government support the idea, but “many Christian ministers and theologians taught that whites were the Chosen people, blacks were cursed to be servants, and God supported racial segregation” (Pilgrim). The idea that God supported racial segregation allowed for people to believe that it was right to treat blacks as inferior. Because the public was able to believe that segregation under the Jim Crow laws was alright, the aim of the laws was achieved because segregation took place freely and socially accepted.

"Jim Crow Law (United States [1877-1954])." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2013. Pilgrim, Dr. David. Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. Ferris State University, Sept. 2000. Web. 10 October 2013.



Audience- Samantha Smith The members of the southern and border states were the primary audience targeted by the Jim Crow Laws that were first passed in 1877, a time where racial segregation was prevalent in the South. More specifically, the Jim Crow Laws were created to make the statement that white people are superior over black people. It is described on Ferris State University’s Jim Crow Museum website, “Jim Crow represented the legitimization of anti-black racism” (Pilgrim). This indicates the white southerners needed a piece of legislation to ensure their superiority, thus the creation of the laws would please any individual that believed in anti-black racism. Another portion of the southern members includes the blacks. The Jim Crow Laws were directed towards this portion of the South in order to establish their placement in society, which is inferior to the whites. In effects of the laws, “African Americans were forced into the lowest paying and dirtiest jobs” (“Segregation…”). Being placed into the “lowest paying” and “dirtiest jobs” reinforces the whites are superior to the blacks. In all, the Jim Crow Laws were formed to appease the racist whites desire to secure their superiority within the states.

Pilgrim, Dr. David. Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia. Ferris State University, Sept. 2000. Web. 10 October 2013. "Segregation and the Effect of Jim Crow Laws in Maryland." SMCPS. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Oct. 2013.