Emancipation from Segregation
Emancipation from Segregation
By Don Moore
(2010)
The physical chains of slavery were broken by the Emancipation Proclamation passed by President Lincoln in the 1860s. Ten years later the African American people faced a second form of slavery. In the South, right after the Civil War, in the 1870s, anti-African American laws were passed which were called the Jim Crow laws. According to David Pilgrim, Professor of Sociology, the Jim Crow laws mandated that African Americans were not to go to white movie theaters, white restaurants, white bars, and white public restrooms. African Americans were also not allowed to ride in trains, cars, or buses with whites. Blacks were not allowed to marry whites. Even mulattos were treated with the same indignity as blacks. The tyrant of segregation is rooted in the Jim Crow laws. In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was constitutional as long as there were separate but equal places to live for both whites and blacks. A gentleman named Homer Plessey was caught riding on a train for whites only. Homer Plessey took his case to the Supreme Court and lost. In 1896, the Supreme Court made its decision to legitimize both the Jim Crow laws and the Jim Crow lifestyle (Pilgrim).
For many years the African American had to be reminded of segregation by reading the “Colored Only” signs on public restrooms. Also the public drinking fountains had the signs “Colored Only” above them. The African American students had to attend schools for blacks only. Black students could never attend white schools. The black students had to be bused in separate buses for blacks while the white students rode on buses for whites (Pilgrim). The second form of slavery was segregation or alienating African Americans from white society. Segregation forced many African American families into states of poverty and oppression. The period from the 1870s until the mid 1960s was a period of despair for the African American people. The heavy burden
By Don Moore
(2010)
The physical chains of slavery were broken by the Emancipation Proclamation passed by President Lincoln in the 1860s. Ten years later the African American people faced a second form of slavery. In the South, right after the Civil War, in the 1870s, anti-African American laws were passed which were called the Jim Crow laws. According to David Pilgrim, Professor of Sociology, the Jim Crow laws mandated that African Americans were not to go to white movie theaters, white restaurants, white bars, and white public restrooms. African Americans were also not allowed to ride in trains, cars, or buses with whites. Blacks were not allowed to marry whites. Even mulattos were treated with the same indignity as blacks. The tyrant of segregation is rooted in the Jim Crow laws. In 1896, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation was constitutional as long as there were separate but equal places to live for both whites and blacks. A gentleman named Homer Plessey was caught riding on a train for whites only. Homer Plessey took his case to the Supreme Court and lost. In 1896, the Supreme Court made its decision to legitimize both the Jim Crow laws and the Jim Crow lifestyle (Pilgrim).
For many years the African American had to be reminded of segregation by reading the “Colored Only” signs on public restrooms. Also the public drinking fountains had the signs “Colored Only” above them. The African American students had to attend schools for blacks only. Black students could never attend white schools. The black students had to be bused in separate buses for blacks while the white students rode on buses for whites (Pilgrim). The second form of slavery was segregation or alienating African Americans from white society. Segregation forced many African American families into states of poverty and oppression. The period from the 1870s until the mid 1960s was a period of despair for the African American people. The heavy burden