Influence Of Jim Crow Legislation On The Development Of Black Self-Employment

Have you ever wondered what really happened when the Jim Crow Laws were in effect? Well i’m going to take sometime to explain what happened and a couple of laws that were in effect that I believe were unacceptable. I will be talking about multiple laws such as the law where nurses can only help certain people, the law where barbers can only cut the hair of their race, and the law where even prisons don’t treat the prisoners the same.

In the 1880’s after slavery was abolished, the Jim Crow laws were passed. Jim Crow laws were a set of laws that segregated the Whites from the Blacks in their everyday lives. Jim Crow was a fictional character in a play used that was to imitate a black man and mock the African American culture. Jim Crow laws were specifically for the African American community. These laws were taken more seriously in the South. The laws enforced racial segregation and were established as “separate but equal” (Jim Crow Laws). The Jim Crow laws had a negative effect on the African American population and subjected Blacks to segregation, more discrimination, and more racism than they had already received.

The New Jim Crow is a book that discusses how legal practices and the American justice system are harming the African American community as a whole, and it argues that racism, though hidden, is still alive and well in our society because of these practices. In the book, Michelle Alexander, author and legal scholar, argues that legal policies against offenders have kept and continue to keep black men from becoming first class citizens, and she writes that by labeling them as “criminals,” the justice system and society in general is able to act with prejudice against them and subordinate black Americans who were previously incarcerated, on probation, or on parole, by limiting their access to services as a result of their ‘criminal status’ and therefore, further degrading their quality of life. The New Jim Crow urges readers to acknowledge the injustice and racial disparity of our criminal justice system so that this new, more covert form of racism in society can be stopped.

Starting in the 1890s, segregation laws known as the Jim Crow Laws dominated the United States, specifically in the South. These laws required schools, parks, libraries, forms of public transportation and even drinking fountains to be segregated into “Whites Only” and “Coloreds”. Although the Jim Crow Laws intended to treat blacks “separate but equal”, blacks received poorer conditions in their public facilities, were denied the right to vote and were treated with no respect from the whites (Jim Crow Laws). In Richard Wright’s essay, “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow: An Autobiographical Sketch”, Wright describes his first-hand experience with these laws and the negative encounters he has faced just because of the color of his skin.

Before there were players such as Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, and Barry Bonds, Major League Baseball was strictly white players only. The color line of Major League Baseball excluded black players until the late 40’s. This didn’t stop the colored men of America from playing the beloved American sport. The creation of the Negro Leagues in 1920 by Rube Foster gave colored men a chance to play in their own professional league, similar to the Major Leagues, but for African-American men. The creation of the Negro Leagues was a result of the Jim Crow Laws, state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Enacted after the Reconstruction period in the U.S., these laws continued in force until 1965. These laws created

The Jim Crow laws impacted employment by causing a line to be drawn between blacks and whites, causing whites to embrace racism while fearing the loss of their jobs to blacks. Though few jobs were available to blacks, those who had lower jobs were still bound by many restrictions: they were not allowed to work in the same area along with whites, and they could not use the same door to come in for their job. Even when companies were in financial trouble, the employers would not consider hiring an African-American unless it was a last resort. Employers were afraid that the hiring of black workers, rather than white workers, would cast a shadow on their business, suggesting that their companies were failing. This kind of mindset was a huge factor

C. Vann Woodward’s most famous work, The Strange Career of Jim Crow, was written in 1955. It chronicles the birth, formation, and end of Jim Crow laws in the Southern states. Often, the Jim Crow laws are portrayed as having been instituted directly after the Civil War’s end, and having been solely a Southern brainchild. However, as Woodward, a native of Arkansas points out, the segregationist Jim Crow laws and policies were not fully a part of the culture until almost 1900. Because of the years of lag between the Civil War/Reconstruction eras and the integration and popularity of the Jim Crow laws, Woodward advances that these policies were not a normal reaction to the loss of the war

What if you woke up one day and everything became separate? School, sports, and even parks; would you be able to cope with Jim Crow laws? Though many whites opposed the idea of integration and supported Jim Crow laws, many citizens of color fought for the right to use the same restroom, water fountain, go to the same schools, and even to intermarry. Jim Crow laws were instituted to separate those of color and whites, because of this, many blacks were discriminated against in social areas and job and school opportunities.

In the early 1800’s, derogatory minstrel shows were created to mimic African Americans; these led to the formation of the Jim Crow laws. The minstrel shows were popularly done in blackface, theatrical makeup used by a nonblack performer in the role of a Black person. The characters often had comedic roles that displayed stereotypes and negative qualities of Black people. The Jim Crow laws, established in the 1870’s, were named after one of the earlier minstrel shows, Jump Jim Crow, a song and dance routine first performed in 1828. The minstrel shows catalyzed racism in the South and reinforced the support the laws would later need to be successful.

For many in the South during the 50’s and 60’s Americans equaled whites. Whites were the superior race and should be kept separate from those deemed inferior. This separation was perpetuated by the enforcement of Jim Crow Laws. The reactions to this segregation differed from race to race and from region to region.

1. Jim crow laws were started and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the southern united states. Enacted after the reconstruction period, these laws contained in forces until 1966

The term, “history repeats itself” has held true throughout the years; however, the real question is whether it “repeats itself” or if it is an ongoing issue. Jim Crow laws, segregation, and civil rights are all a part of the never-ending cycle that has been passed on generation, by generation. After all, this can be seen by the examples of Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP, the Groveland Boys, modern-day struggles, and firsthand experiences. After all, the struggles of finding equality in our society, no matter how much it seems like we “get along” with another race, or classification on people, doesn’t mean that there is an underlining of respect.

Jim Crow laws were the act that legalized segregation between blacks and whites back in the late 1800’s. These laws were mainly enforced in the southern states. They were created to separate blacks and whites from having even the slightest bit of contact. Some JIm Crow laws were no interracial marriage, blacks and whites had to go to separate schools, and use different tools, and also go to different hospitals. Everything that went one between the blacks and the whites had to be different. This essay will go over what some of the specific Jim Crow laws were, and how it affected the people in the united states.

What are the Jim Crow Laws? How badly did it affect the blacks? That is what I am here to talk about. I’m going to show you how badly the blacks were treated under the Jim Crow Laws. Without further ado, let’s get started.

During the early 1900’s a set of laws were released to the Southern United States. They we're named the Jim Crow Laws. They enforced racial segregation on African Americans and white men and women. These laws would create completely separate lives for black and white people making the life of blacks matter less than animals. During the time even the brightest pupils of a town would buttress the fact that all blacks were innately, intellectually, and culturally inferior to whites (Pilgrim 1).There is even a rule stating that burial areas, prisons, hospitals, and schools should all be segregated (Pilgrim 4). Most importantly any mixing of a black man and women was forbidden, and anyone who broke these laws would be punished severely. A popular