Jim Crow Laws

Jim Crow Laws

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Jim Crow Laws

Introduction

What is the origin of the Jim Crow laws? Were they named after a person? Most people often assume that these laws were created by an individual. However, the truth is Jim Crow laws were the laws, both state and local, that were enacted in order to enforce racial differentiation and segregation in the United States. They enforced racial prejudice and separation in all the former states of the Confederate States of America, and provided the African Americans with a separate but equal status for the black. The inequalities cut across all sectors of life, such as banking, employment, and housing. Jim Crow laws were discriminatory laws enforced in the Southern states, in 18th century that led sociopolitical and economic impact for African Americans, but due to the works of the NAACP and the Civil Rights Act in 1964, Jim Crow ended.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), founded in 1909 began publicizing the evils and atrocities of the Jim Crow laws. The African Americans could not advance their lives due to the laws in place at the time. “There were various restrictions, such restricted access to important amenities such as schools, restaurants, banks, hospitals, houses that were designated only to the whites” (Tischauser, 2012). The NAACP, which preached heavily against the teachings of Booker T, expanded its membership in the south where they publicized and condemned evils such as lynching of black men that was rampant at the time. Martin Luther King, a staunch member of the party had a famous quote, “I have a dream”, which was to free African Americans from the chains of racial inequalities (Fleming, 2008).

Conclusion

“The signing of the Civil Rights Act into law in 1964 influenced and intensified the persistence activism against racial prejudice in America (Wright, 2006).” The rights outlawed the Jim Crow laws, and slowly, the blacks were able to redeem themselves, as quality education, previously only accessible to the whites, was accessible, bank loans were now facilitated, and they became more actively involved in American politics. The impact of the Jim Crow laws was devastating for the African American community in the United States. Being unable to access facilities such as certain hospitals and restaurants because of skin pigmentation was the height of racial segregation. The NAACP and the Civil Rights Act intervened and campaigned strongly against these laws, leading to the redemption of the blacks form the chains of racial prejudice.

References

Fleming, A. (2008). Martin Luther King, Jr. New York: Sterling.

Tischauser, L. (2012). Jim Crow laws. Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood.

Wright, S. (2006). The Civil Rights Act of 1964. New York: Rosen Pub. Group.