Jim Crow Laws

How black folks were segregated in the United States

Index

1. Jim Crow

3. Jim Crow Laws

4. Lawsuits (and riots) against the laws

2. Minstrel Show

5. Conclusion

Who was Jim Crow ?

1

1. How black people were portraied in the 1900's

What are they ?

2

• A Minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe
• Was a poular form of racist entertainment in the United States

• Consisting of: comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music performances
• Played by black painted white people
• Specifically made to discriminate people of color

What are "Minstrel Shows" ?

A Minstrel advertising poster

In this picture, we can see the transition of Billy Van, a white actor, to a black person.

A huge piece of legislation

3

• Were enforced from 1877 to 1965
• Legislation, which enforced racial segregation in the southern US
• In practice, Jim Crow laws mandated racial segregation in all public facilities in the states of the former Confederate States of America
• Also interratial marriage was forbidden, although not by state laws, but as anti-miscegenation laws
• Supreme court ruled in 1896 that black folks were "seperate, but equal"
  
• Similar laws were enforced in Canada, France, Italy, Germany and South Africa
  

What are Jim Crow Laws ?

4

• In 1954, Oliver Braun contested scholar racism in supreme court
• Supreme court deemed legally mandated public school segregation unconstitutional
  
• In 1955, Rosa Parks started the Montgomery Bus Boycott
  
• In 1963, the civil rights movement had 800 demonstrations in 200 cities and towns with over 100.000 participants
• A lot of those demonstrations quickly became riots
• One year later, the civil rights act came into effect
• Another year after that, the voting rights act came into affect, allowing black folks to vote properly

Lawsuits, riots and demonstrations

So in conclusion...

Racism divides our civilisation, our principals and our progress

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

Martin Luther King Jr.