Well, I aint sure where he been, but I'm sure he's back.
Jumpin' Jim Crow:Southern Politics from Civil War to Civil Rights
White supremacy shaped all aspects of post-Civil War southern life, yet its power was never complete or total. The form of segregation and subjection nicknamed Jim Crow constantly had to remake itself over time even as white southern politicians struggled to extend its grip. Here, some of the most innovative scholars of southern history question Jim Crow's sway, evolution, and methods over the course of a century. These essays bring to life the southern men and women--some heroic and decent, others mean and sinister, most a mixture of both--who supported and challenged Jim Crow, showing that white supremacy always had to prove its power.
Jim Crow was always in motion, always adjusting to meet resistance and defiance by both African Americans and whites. Sometimes white supremacists responded with increased ferocity, sometimes with more subtle political and legal ploys. Jumpin' Jim Crow presents a clear picture of this complex negotiation. For example, even as some black and white women launched the strongest attacks on the system, other white women nurtured myths glorifying white supremacy. Even as elite whites blamed racial violence on poor whites, they used Jim Crow to dominate poor whites as well as blacks. Most important, the book portrays change over time, suggesting that Strom Thurmond is not a simple reincarnation of Ben Tillman and that Rosa Parks was not the first black woman to say no to Jim Crow.
From a study of the segregation of household consumption to a fresh look at critical elections, from an examination of an unlikely antilynching campaign to an analysis of how miscegenation laws tried to sexualize black political power, these essays about specific southern times and places exemplify the latest trends in historical research.
span >Creation of the Jim Crow South
Segregation in the South
Jim Crow laws were laws that imposed racial segregation. They existed mainly in the South and originated from the Black Codes that were enforced from 1865 to 1866 and from prewar segregation on railroad cars in northern cities. The laws sprouted up in the late nineteenth century after Reconstruction and lasted until the 1960s.
Prior to the enactment of Jim Crow laws, African Americans enjoyed some of the rights granted during Reconstruction. Gains included the addition of the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments and the Civil Rights Act of 1875. However, rights dwindled after Reconstruction ended in 1877. By 1890, whites in the North and South became less supportive of civil rights and racial tensions began to flare. Additionally, several Supreme Court decisions overturned Reconstruction legislation by promoting racial segregation.
http://afroamhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa010201a.htm
JIM CROW LAWS
http://www.lawbuzz.com/tyranny/
CHAPTER 8 - WHAT WERE JIM CROW LAWS?
"Jim Crow" was an antebellum character in a minstrel show. A white man (Tom "Daddy" Rice) - made up as a black man - incorporated a character called "Jim Crow" into his show in 1832. Jim Crow sang a song to this music (You will need Real Audio):
"Weel about and turn about
And do jis so,
Eb'ry time I weel about
And jump Jim Crow."
Soon the term "Jim Crow" became a euphemism for "Negro." Soon the term "Jim Crow Laws" became a euphemism for legal segregation.
CHAPTER 9 - NOW WHAT?
Once the slaves were free, the South had to find a way to live with them. The North had created a model. Jim Crow laws, separating blacks from whites in public facilities, were already on the books in the North. Massachusetts had passed the first known law in 1841, separating whites and blacks in railroad cars.
Once reconstruction was complete, and the Union soldiers were gone, the South had to make a huge transition from slave to free society. Because it had been illegal for a slave to read or write before the Civil War, most slaves were illiterate. Education was sorely needed to assimilate former slaves into mainstream society. But how would that be done?
Since Congress had passed no plan to help African Americans make the transition from slavery to freedom, a societal vacuum existed. The South began to fill the vacuum with Jim Crow laws. By 1914, every southern state had its own version of how it chose to live with former slaves.
At the same time, the South struggled to make another equally problematic transition: from slave to free economy.
Since 1619, when southern colonists first used slaves, the South had a plantation (cheap labor) economy. Now southerners needed to create a completely new market economy. To put the difficulty in modern perspective, keep in mind the plantation system had been in effect longer (246 years) than America has been free from British control (approximately 225 years).
CHAPTER 10 - THE INFAMOUS LAWS
As long as Union soldiers were in the South, things were alright for blacks. But when Union troops returned home, southern states were free to develop their own laws. They promptly began to deconstruct many federally-imposed reconstruction laws. One of the first victims was the 1875 Civil Rights Act. That law, which had guaranteed equal rights to blacks in public accommodations, was replaced with laws like this:
The schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately. (Florida)
Books shall not be interchangeable between the white and colored schools, but shall continue to be used by the race first using them. (North Carolina)
It shall be unlawful for a white person to marry anyone except a white person. (Georgia)
The white and colored militia shall be separately enrolled, and shall never be compelled to serve in the same organization. (North Carolina)
The conductors or managers on all such railroad shall have power, and are hereby required, to assign to each white or colored passenger his or her respective car, coach or compartment. If the passenger fails to disclose his race, the conductor and managers, acting in good faith, shall be the sole judges of his race. (Virginia - did you notice the "hereby required" language?)
The officer in charge shall not bury, or allow to be buried, any colored persons upon ground set apart or used for the burial of white persons. (Georgia)
Texas Jim Crow Laws: Texas Close
Twenty-seven Jim Crow laws were passed in the Lone Star state. The state
enacted one anti-segregation law in 1871 barring separation of the races
on public carriers. This law was repealed in 1889.
1866: Education [Constitution]
All taxes paid by blacks to go to maintaining African schools. Duty of the
legislature to "encourage colored schools."
1866: Railroads [Statute]
"All railroad companies shall attach one passenger car for the special
accommodation of freedmen."
1871: Barred segregation on public carriers [Statute]
Public carriers prohibited from making any distinctions in the carrying of
passengers. Penalty: Misdemeanor punishable by a fine from $100 to $500,
or imprisonment from 30 to 90 days, or both.
1876: Voting rights [Constitution]
Required electors to pay poll tax.
1879: Miscegenation [Statute]
Confirmed intermarriage law passed in 1858. Penalty applied equally to
both parties.
1889: Railroads [Statute]
Railroad companies required to maintain separate coaches for white and
colored passengers, equal in comfort. Penalty: Passengers refusing to sit
where assigned were guilty of a misdemeanor, and could be fined between $5
and $20.
1891: Railroads [Statute]
Separate coach laws strengthened. Separate coaches for white and Negro
passengers to be equal in all points of comfort and convenience. Designed
by signage posted in a conspicuous place in each compartment. Trains
allowed to carry chair cars or sleeping cars for the exclusive use of
either race. Law did not apply to streetcars. Penalty: Conductors who
failed to enforce law faced misdemeanor charge punishable by a fine from
$5 to $25. The railroad company could be fined from $100 to $1,000 for
each trip. Passengers who refused to sit in designated areas faced fines
from $5 to $25.
1907: Streetcars [Statute]
Required all streetcars to comply with the separate coach law passed in
1889. Penalty: Streetcar companies could be fined from $100 to $1,000 for
failing to enact law.A passenger wrongfully riding in an improper coach
was guilty of a misdemeanor, and faced fines from $5 to $25.
1909: Railroads [Statute]
Depot buildings required to provide separate waiting areas for the use of
white and Negro passengers.
1914: Railroads [Statute]
Negro porters shall not sleep in sleeping car berths nor use bedding
intended for white passengers.
1915: Miscegenation [State Code]
The penalty for intermarriage is imprisonment in the penitentiary from two
to five years.
1919: Public accommodations [Statute]
Ordered that Negroes were to use separate branches of county free
libraries.
1922: Voting Rights [Statute]
"…in no event shall a Negro be eligible to participate in a Democratic
party primary election held in the State of Texas…" Overturned in 1927 by
U.S. Supreme Court in Nixon v. Herndon.
1925: Education [Statute]
Required racially segregated schools.
1925: Public accommodations [Statute]
Separate branches for Negroes to be administered by a Negro custodian in
all county libraries.
1925: Miscegenation [Penal Code]
Miscegenation declared a felony.Nullified interracial marriages if parties
went to another jurisdiction where such marriages were legal.
1926: Public carriers [Statute]
Public carriers to be segregated.
1935: Health Care [Statute]
Established a state tuberculosis sanitarium for blacks.
1935: Public carriers [State Code]
Directed that separate coaches for whites and blacks on all common
carriers.
1943: Public carriers [State Code]
Ordered separate seating on all buses.
1949: Employment [Statute]
Coal mines required to have separate washrooms.
1950: Public accommodations [Statute]
Separate facilities required for white and black citizens in state parks
1951: Voting rights [Constitution]
Required electors to pay poll tax.
1951: Miscegenation [Statute]
Unlawful for person of Caucasian blood to marry person of African blood.
Penalty:Two to five years imprisonment.
1952: Health Care [Statute]
Establishment of TB hospitals for blacks.
1953: Public carriers [Penal Code]
Public carriers to be segregated.
1956: Public accommodations [Municipal Ordinance]
Abolished previously required segregation in the city of San Antonio's
swimming pools and other recreational facilities.
1958: Education [Statute]
No child compelled to attend schools that are racially mixed. No
desegregation unless approved by election. Governor may close schools
where troops used on federal authority.
Mississippi Jim Crow Laws:
Mississippi Close Enacted 22 Jim Crow statutes, and a law restricting voting rights between
1865 and 1956. Six miscegenation laws were enacted, four school and three
railroad segregation acts were passed. Three segregation laws were passed
after the 1954 Brown decision. The sentence for violating the state's 1865
miscegenation law was life imprisonment. In later years, the miscegenation
laws became more complex. In 1880, those persons with one quarter or more
Negro blood were considered "colored." By 1890 the law had become more
stringent, marking those with one-eighth or more Negro blood as non-white.
In 1906, the miscegenation law was amended to include not only blacks but
Asians as well in the list of unacceptable mates for Caucasians. During
the Reconstruction era, Mississippi passed five civil rights laws,
permitting miscegenation, protecting voting rights and barring public
carrier and school segregation.
1865: Miscegenation [Statute]
Declared a felony for any freedman, free Negro, or mulatto to intermarry
with any white person. Penalty: Imprisonment in state penitentiary for
life.
1865: Railroad [Statute]
Unlawful for any freedman, Negro, or mulatto to ride in any first-class
passenger cars used by white persons. Penalty: Misdemeanor punished by a
fine between $50 to $500; and imprisonment in county jail until fine and
costs of prosecution are paid. Half of the fines to be paid to the
informer, the other half to the county treasury where offense was
committed.
1867: Barred court testimony discrimination [Statute]
Negroes given the right to testify on the same terms as white persons.
1867: Jury selection [Statute]
Negroes declared incompetent to serve as jurors.
1868: Voting rights protected [Constitution]
Removed the limitation of suffrage to white persons only.
1868: Barred public carrier segregation [Constitution]
All citizens had the right to travel on all public transportation.
1871: Barred anti-miscegenation [State Code]
Omitted miscegenation or intermarriage statute.
1871: Barred school segregation [State Code]
All children from five to twenty-one years of age shall have in all
respects equal advantages in public schools.
1872: Barred prison segregation [Statute]
No distinction on account of race or color or previous condition in
working convicts.
1873: Barred public accommodations segregation [Statute]
1878: Education [Statute]
Prohibited teaching white and black children in the same school.
1880: Miscegenation [State Code]
Revised state code to declare marriage between white persons and Negroes
or mulattoes or persons of one-quarter or more Negro blood as "incestuous
and void." Penalty: Fine up to $500, or imprisonment in the penitentiary
up to ten years, or both.
1888: Railroad [Statute]
New depot buildings were to provide separate rooms for the sexes and the
races if deemed proper by the board. Equal but separate accommodations to
be provided for white and colored passengers. Penalty: Misdemeanor for
railroad companies failing to comply, with a fine up to $500. Conductors
who failed to enforce the law could be fined from $25 to $50 for each
offense.
1890: Miscegenation [Constitution]
Prohibited marriage of a white person with a Negro or mulatto or person
who has one-eighth or more of Negro blood.
1890: Education [Constitution]
Separate schools to be maintained for white and black children.
1896: Education [Statute]
Separate districts established for the schools of white and black
children.
1904: Streetcars [Statute]
Streetcars were to provide equal but separate accommodations for white and
colored passengers. Penalties: Passengers could be fined $25 or confined
up to 30 days in county jail. Employees liable for a fine of $25 or
confinement up to 30 days in jail. A streetcar company could be charged
with a misdemeanor for failing to carry out law and be fined $100 and face
imprisonment between 60 days and six months.
1906: Railroads [Statute]
Railroad commission to provide separate waiting rooms for white and black
passengers. Separate restrooms were to be provided also.
1906: Miscegenation [Statute]
Prohibited marriage between a white person with a Negro or mulatto or a
person with one-eighth or more Negro blood, or with an Asian or person
with one-eighth or more "Mongolian" blood.
1920: Miscegenation [Statute]
Persons or corporations who printed, published or circulated written
material promoting the acceptance of intermarriage between whites and
Negroes would be guilty of a misdemeanor. Penalty: Fine up to $500 or
imprisonment up to six months, or both.
1930: Education [State Code]
Required schools to be racially segregated, and the creation of separate
districts to provide school facilities for the greatest number of pupils
of both races. In addition, authorized the establishment of separate
schools for Native Americans.
1930: Miscegenation [State Code]
Miscegenation declared a felony. Nullified interracial marriages if
parties went to another jurisdiction where such marriages were legal. Also
prohibited marriages between persons of the Caucasian race and those
persons who had one eighth of more Asian blood.
1942: Voting rights [Constitution]
Instituted poll tax requirement.
1942: Miscegenation [State Code]
Marriage between white and Negro or Asian void. Penalty: $500 and/or up to
ten years imprisonment. Anyone advocating intermarriage subject to fine of
$500 and/or six months.
1942: Health Care [State Code ]
Segregated facilities at state charity hospital and separate entrances at
all state hospitals.
1956: Education [State Code & Constitution]
Separate schools to be maintained. All state executive officers required
to prevent implementation of school segregation decision by "lawful
means." Governor may close any school if he determines closure to be in
best interest of majority of children.
1956: Public carriers [State Code]
Public carriers to be segregated.
1956: Public accommodation [Statute]
Firms and corporations authorized to choose their clientele and the right
to refuse service to any person.
1958: Recreation [Statute]
Authorized goveronr to close parks to prevent desegregation.
http://www.bringinghistoryhome.org/
The unmistakable point of these laws was to continue to control people who were no longer slaves as the South moved forward after the war
.
By 1914, every southern state had "Jim Crow" laws. Many of the first laws focused on separate railroad cars. Blacks were not allowed to sit in "white" railroad cars. Even in Philadelphia, William Penn's northern "city of brotherly love," such laws were passed. But that isn't the worst of it. Passing laws is one thing; upholding them is something else. What is most troubling is the highest court in the country - the United States Supreme Court - upheld those bad laws.
CHAPTER 11 - A SHAMEFUL LEGACY
In the worst travesty of all, the Supreme Court of the United States (with Justice Harlan as the lone dissenter and Justice Brewer not participating) did not overturn Jim Crow laws. The high court gave its tacit blessing to separate but equal laws in Plessy v Ferguson. How is this for a holding?
...We consider the underlying fallacy of the plaintiff's [Plessy's] argument to consist in the assumption that the enforced separation of the two races stamps the colored race with a badge of inferiority. If this be so, it is not by reason of any-thing found in the act, but solely because the colored race chooses to put that construction upon it.
Here's what Justice Harlan thought about it. His dissent accurately described the pernicious nature of the Court's decision:
The thin disguise of "equal" accommodations for passengers in railroad coaches will not mislead anyone, nor atone for the wrong this day done.
As the Supreme Court helped to create America's apartheid, the executive and legislative branches of the federal government did nothing to stop it. Is it any wonder the state law of Mississippi eventually prohibited any person from promoting the concept of equality?
Any person...urging or presenting for public acceptance or general information...arguments or suggestions in favor of social equality...shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to fine...or imprisonment...or both.
Americans still struggle with the concept that race laws restricting the lives and livelihood of people could have been passed in the "land of the free and the home of the brave". Citizens who endured those laws still remember the humiliation. It was bad enough the laws were passed in the first place. It is nearly incomprehensible that the Supreme Court of the United States upheld them for so many years.
Jump Jim Crow (Part 1 of 2)Out of the segregated South: oral histories from the Great Migration
Styling Jim Crow
African American Beauty Trainingduring Segregation
I suggest they not only learned a trade but a tradition.......
In Styling Jim Crow, Julia Kirk Blackwelder traces the evolution of African-American hairstyling techniques, beginning with methods of hair wrapping and braiding that traveled west on slave vessels and were then passed on from mothers to daughters. Throughout the antebellum years, African-American women experimented with recipes for hair care, looking for ways to stimulate hair growth, cure scalp ailments, or tame curly hair. While hair care began as something women did among themselves, it gradually developed into a home industry that operated outside the white-dominated beauty industry. Pioneers like Annie Turnbo Malone and Sarah Breedlove Walker (Madame C. J. Walker) manufactured their own hair care products and built pyramid sales organizations in which representatives were trained to sell products door to door within the black community
By the 1920s, the black beauty industry had entered its "golden age" as a leading sector of African-American business. Beauty salons sprung up in black communities and institutions for educating beauticians who could meet the hair-grooming needs of women of color emerged. In the era of racial segregation, says Blackwelder, hair styling provided one of the only occupations for African-American women outside "field, factory, and kitchen."
http://www.wellesley.edu/.../
Class photograph, 1937. From Styling Jim Crow
Three women on the way to their cosmetology licensing examina-tion, Austin, Texas, 1940. From Styling Jim Crow
....and we wonder where our 'standards of beauty' come from.......It's no wonder to me.
I began this look into the images of Afrikans that began during the jim crow era to get an idea of where our current self-images and subsequent self-destructive behaviors come from.......the journey took me farther than I'd intended to go........I'm glad it did......I will continue the journey and share with you what I find along the way.
1 comment:
Post a Comment