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This kind of treatment towards the blacks was evident by the fact that the facilities they used seemed were “separate but equal” to those used by the whites but this was contrary to the reality on the ground since evidence showed that such facilities were like second hand facilities if compared to those used by the whites (Robin and Kelley, 2005).
The Jim Crow Laws
The
Jim Crow laws were implemented in south of America in the 1880s with the
general aim of enhancing racial segregation. The implementation of the racial
segregation of the African Americans led to the loss and abuse of their civil
liberties. Every aspect of life in the society was affected by the Jim Crow
laws until the early 1960s the time when reasoning among the Americans about
the true meaning equality among all citizens started being manifested. For the
time the laws were in effect, the blacks in the United States of America were
regarded to be people of the second class for close to a century (Morehouse,
2000). This kind of treatment towards the blacks was evident by the fact that the facilities they used seemed were “separate but equal” to those used by the whites but this was contrary to the reality on the ground since evidence showed that such facilities were like second hand facilities if compared to those used by the whites (Robin and Kelley, 2005).
The
Jim Crow laws robbed the blacks their benefits which were being enjoyed by the
whites and this kind of situation forced them to seek alternative methods of
making the world they are living in a better place to stay (Morehouse, 2000). This
challenge was too mush for some of the African America and some of them rose to
the challenge through violent means while others practised cowardliness. For a
century, the force of the Jim Crow laws and the dominating ideas of the whites
left the blacks in the country which enjoys world’s supremacy today without a
voice and such ideas are also evident in today’s society.
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Origin
of Jim Crow
The
term “Jim Crow” originated from a minstrel show which was staged by a white performer
(Thomas “Daddy” Rice) whose expressions were defined by the manner in which he
sung and danced. Rice used clothes designed of vagabond and blackened his face
by using a burnt cork (Robin and Kelley, 2005). His trait of acting and
performing were interpreted in two different ways were some argue that he
represented black slaves who were
elderly while others argued that his trait represented a poor black and a
stable boy. His encouragement was mainly as a result of his African American
singing.
The
performances of Rice were staged in several cities across America such as
Philadelphia, Louisville, New York, and Pittsburgh (Morehouse, 2000). The kind
of lifestyle that Rice showed that of a black person in his performances gave
the crowds false impression of his life approach. His lifestyle added insults
to injuries in the lives of the blacks since all the viewers were left with a
stereotypical image of the ambitions, traits and behaviors of the blacks. The approach of Rice in stage performances
attracted other performers from the superior fraternity and used the
performance opportunity to show case all the negative attributes which were
associated with the blacks (Morehouse, 2000). All the performances which
followed the steps of Rice were used to enhance the understanding f the term
“Jim Crow” across the nation.
Aspect
of Jim Crow Laws
Every
aspect of life of the blacks living in America was affected by the Jim Crow
laws. Segregation in America become apparent and the order of the day and was
evident in several instances such as in churches, hospitals, cemeteries,
saloons and all other social avenues and even in the manner in which public
school textbooks were sold (Morehouse, 2000). The blacks were denied the right
to access certain locations such as swimming pools and amusement parks.
The
most intimidating part of the Jim Crow laws is that some of the whites used it
as an avenue to demoralize the blacks as it was evident in the entrance of
public parks which had signs reading “Negroes and Dogs Not Allowed”. This kind
of sign was very intimidating since it compared the blacks with the dogs. Medical
services were denied to the blacks in several hospitals despite the fact that
healthcare is primary need of every human being (Robin and Kelley, 2005). This
was worsened when a requirement was passed that nurses in every hospital should
only help and treat only patients who came from the same race.
If a black had the urge for entertainment,
they had to purchase different tickets to those being purchased by the whites
and even in the halls there were different seating for the different races this
forced the Africans to seat in the balcony which was later named after as
“nigger heaven” (Robin and Kelley, 2005). The consumption of goods such as
clothes and shoes was not spared by the Jim Crow laws since in most of the
white stores blacks could not be allowed to try anything as they were believed
they will rub the clothes due to their indecency. The segregation laws in
America were also evident in the lives of prostitutes.
The
Jim Crow laws forced blacks to lose every other earned recognized position in
the society. Before the enactment and enforcement of the laws in 1880s, blacks
had the opportunity to show case their skills in playing baseball in recognized
leagues (Robin and Kelley, 2005). This kind of privilege was short lived after
the Jim Crow law came into force since the blacks were forced out of the league
altogether (Morehouse, 2000). Two years down the lane, the blacks were nowhere
to be found even in the minor baseball leagues. The wounds of the black from
this kind of segregation were not to be over any time soon because their
elimination from jockeys in all races by Kentucky Derby came in hand in 1911
few decades after the law was effected.
The
elimination of the blacks from sports was a small aspect of the problems which
were about to face the prestigious nation. All the positions the blacks
struggled to achieve were being lost to the supremacy of the whites. Some
people in the country through articles in newspapers advocated for the
disintegration of black employment which would be a big setback to the blacks
who deserved the earned jobs. With the
rise of the Jim Crow laws, the suffering of the blacks was increasing day by
day, week by week and year by year since they were losing their positions in
the society to the whites. The country started enacting laws which would see
the segregation of streetcars in 1880s which would later become a controversial
issue (Morehouse, 2000). The cars designed for the blacks were cars which the
whites would not ride on since they referred to them as second-class cars (Robin
and Kelley, 2005). On to of the designing of particular cars for the blacks,
some streetcar lines developed with the main aim of ensuring that the blacks
remain at the back of the cars.
Courts
cases against this issue were not avoidable as it was the case for Plessy
versus Ferguson where Plessy was against the laws which segregated the railroad
passengers in entering a car designed for a given race. Plessy lost the case
after the Supreme Court ruled against his wishes. The case argued that equal
rights did not necessarily refer to commingling. The segregation was allowed by
the court on the ground that the facilities which are being used by the blacks
equaled those being used by the whites.
With
the growing Jim Crow influence across the country, the public attitude towards
the blacks developed to be unreceptive than it was expected as noted by Robin and
Kelley, (2005). This un-receptive attitude and behavior was evident in the
manner which the whites treated the blacks such as the blacks stepping aside on
sidewalk to give the whites enough space to pass. In certain cases, blacks were
not allowed to pass the whites while driving since they were believed that hey
will dirty the whites because of their second-class vehicles (Morehouse, 2000).
Finding a good employment for the black women was a nightmare since the Jim
Crow laws was enacted in the way that it ensure that the white women secured
the best desirable jobs in the market. Therefore, the black women were left
with only one option that of working in unfavorable jobs which included working
in the automobile industry and food processing.
The Jim Crow laws led to the decline in public
freedom which subsequently led to the decreased political rights. This was
evident because many states wrote new constitutions with the aim of denying the
blacks suffrage through the use of law instead of using fraud to deny them. States
used varying means to get rid of the blacks from the political realms which
included the inequality in accessing educational facilities, disfranchisement
and segregation as argued by Robin and Kelley, (2005). Most of the whites believed that blacks would
seriously demand equality in the manner which the whites live if the blacks had
equal voting rights. The development of residential areas for the blacks which
were dumped “darktowns” and “niggertowns” propped up because the blacks could
not afford to live in the same residential as the whites.
The
World War II also felt the effects of the rapid spread of the segregation. The
African Americans were kept in units which were segregated and were required to
perform specific duties instead of regular combat roles (Robin and Kelley,
2005). Applications offices disregarded volunteers from the black community on
basis of their race. On dismissal from volunteering work, they were informed
that lack of housing in the segregated area was the main cause why their
application was not successful.
A
selective Service Act was enacted in 1940 which was to ease the life of the
blacks in the recruitment of jobs in the country as a noted by Robin and Kelley,
(2005). The selective act was to ensure that the number of the blacks recruited
for a particular job equaled the percentage of the country’s black population
and it required that there should not be any kind of discrimination whatsoever
during the recruitment process. Within the military arena, the act was
categorical that the blacks can only be recruited in the unit that is
specifically made for the blacks in the army.
Conclusion
The
era of Jim Crow transformed United States of America for the worst. The lives
of many blacks were lost at the hands of the whites even if there was no
justifiable reason for them to lose their lives. The Jim Crow ensure that the
whites worked tireless to segregate and discriminate the blacks from enjoying
the America life by all means (Morehouse, 2000). On the other hand, he laws
provided an opportunity for the blacks to show that they can fight for their
own rights and that their race should not be used in any way to discriminate
them. They fought tirelessly to diminish the principal of “separate but equal” policy
which defined their livelihood in America (Robin and Kelley, 2005). After the
overcoming segregation and the issue of using second-class facilities, the
blacks revolutionized any negative notion which was associated with them (Morehouse,
2000). However, despite the fact that Jim Crow is dead, the beliefs of this era
are still evident in the social and economic fields of America.
References
Arsenault, Raymond.
Freedom Riders. New York, New York: Oxford University Press, Inc, 2006, 323
Davis, Ronald L. The
History of Jim Crow. 8 Feb. 2007 <http://www.jimcrowhistory.org>.
Kozol, Jonathan. Savage
Inequalities. New York, New York: Crown Publishers, Inc, 1991.
Morehouse, Maggi M. Fighting
in the Jim Crow Army: Black Men and Women Remember, World War II. Lanham, MD:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2000.
Ramla M. Bandele, Black
star: African American activism in the international political economy,
University of Illinois Press, 2008
Robin D. G. Kelley, To
Make Our World Anew: Volume II: A History of African Americans Since 1880,
Oxford University Press, USA, 2005
Wolters, Raymond. “From
Brown to Green and Back: The Changing Meaning of Desegregation.” Journal of Southern History.
2 2004. 317. eLibrary. Proquest. HARWICH HIGH SCHOOL. 18 April 2011.
<http://elibrary.bigchalk.com>.
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