Jim Crow laws were enacted in many Southern states after slavery was ended. The laws were designed and intended to restrict the freedoms of African Americans after they were freed. Jim Crow laws were in place from the mid 1860’s through the Civil Rights Act in the mid 1960’s. The laws were very successful in relegating black citizens to second class status. The laws created not just rules for society but created a lifestyle that many blacks simply accepted for over a hundred years (Pilgrim).
Although the laws varied from state to state, there were common themes. Jim Crow laws segregated the black and white populations. They provided for separate water fountains and bathroom facilities. Children were segregated into separate schools. Blacks and whites were not allowed to socialize together and interracial marriage was prohibited (Pilgrim).
Laws segregating children in education were common across the states. The State of Florida had this law, “The schools for white children and the schools for negro children shall be conducted separately.” (“Jim Crow Laws”). The law in Missouri stated, “Separate free schools shall be established for the education of children of African descent; and it shall be unlawful for any colored child to attend any white school, or any white child to attend a colored school.” (Pilgrim). The laws defining educational services were uniform throughout the states. Some states even went so far as to prevent the sharing of books between black and white schools. In Oklahoma, teachers were charged with a misdemeanor and charged a fine of they taught a class that was racially diverse (“Jim Crow Laws”).
T.R. Davidson shares in his narrative of growing up under Jim Crow laws in South Carolina. Davidson was born in 1926 and describes how his entire life was defined by the laws and segregation. Davidson was very interested in aviation while he was growing up and had heard of Tuskegee and its program for training black pilots. Despite the segregated program, Davidson had the opportunity to learn how to fly (Davidson).
Works Cited
Davidson, T.R. “Jim Crow Stories.” The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, n.d. Public Broadcasting
Service. Web 11 Jul. 2015 <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/narrative_davidson.html>
“Jim Crow Laws.” Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site. National Park Service, n.d.
Web 11 Jul. 2015 http://www.nps.gov/malu/learn/education/jim_crow_laws.htm
Pilgrim, David. “Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia.” Ferris State University, 2012. Web
11 Jul. 2015 http://www.ferris.edu/jimcrow/what.htm
