Many regions have faced issues of racism but in few places was it more prevalent during the Jim Crow era in the deep South. The Jim Crow laws were enacted in 1876 and not considered unconstitutional until 1965 (George). These sets of laws were designed to create segregation between the newly freed slaves and the rest of society. In the South, these racist laws were to discourage African Americans from voting by increasing taxes and limiting voter registration (George). The Jim Crow laws were later used in an attempt to keep African American and White populations separated through different establishments, school, and jobs (George).
It was not until the civil rights movement were these inequalities addressed. Several major events helped contribute to these major changes. One of these took place in 1954 in Brown vs. Board (Highsaw). This infamous court case declared it unconstitutional for schools to be segregated. Before this landmark case, schools were supposed to be separate but equal. However there was much evidence to the contrary. Evidence pointed out that the schools were indeed “unequal” and that it is within all’s constitutional rights to attend the same schools (Highsaw).
For 1955-1956 Rosa Parks set in place a nationwide protest with the Montgomery Bus Boycott (Highsaw). When Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat to a white person, national outrage resulted in a campaign to boycott all forms of public transportation. In 1957, even more change came to America when Little Rock High School became integrated (Highsaw). Putting into action the legislation that resulted from Brown vs. Board nine students were placed in a previously all white school (Highsaw). The uproar produced by this event made it evident that many state governments were very reluctant to comply. National intervention was required; proving that is would be a long road before state government would be cooperative with national rulings.
Overall, the South was slow to adopt the idea of equality for everyone. The end of the Jim Crow Laws was instrumental in bringing about these changes and encouraging the South to slowly begin the changes needed.
Works Cited:
George, Charles. Life under the Jim Crow laws. San Diego: Lucent Books, 2000. Print.
Highsaw, Robert Baker. The Deep South in transformation; a symposium,. University: University of Alabama Press, 1964. Print.
