The Birth and Death of the Horrendous Jim Crow Laws

The Birth and Death of the Horrendous Jim Crow Laws

Written and Edited by Bill Knell

President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the 1964 Civil Rights Bill

Jim Crow laws were any state or local laws that enforced or legalized racial segregation. These laws lasted for almost 100 years, from the post-Civil War era until around 1968, and their main purpose was to legalize the marginalization of African Americans.

The laws get the name “Jim Crow” from a racist and insulting minstrel routine called Jump, Jim

Crow. The routine was performed in the 1830’s by a white man named Thomas Dartmouth Rice. His most famous act was “Jump, Jim Crow,” in which Rice would paint his face black and do a song and dance that he claimed was inspired by a slave he once saw. He would also adorn a shabby dress that imitated how Rice, and many white individuals of the time, imagined the dress and the demeanor of a southern enslaved black person.

Rice’s routine became a hit, and as his popularity grew, his stage name began to permeate the culture. “Jumping Jim Crow” or just simply “Jim Crow” became a well known derogatory term for African Americans. To call someone “Jim Crow” wasn’t just to point out his or her skin color: it was to reduce that person to the kind of caricature that Rice performed on stage.

Rice in 1836 poster

The South started passing laws after the Civil War that discriminated against newly freed African Americans, and the Separate Car Act of 1890 began a long period of segregation that claimed the notion of “separate, but equal” with Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. By the turn of the century, these “separate, but equal” segregation laws had gained the nickname made famous by Rice. The popularity of blackface minstrels faded and T.D. Rice is barely remembered. In fact, most people today don’t know his name, but everybody knows “Jim Crow.”

The 20th century saw states across the South strongly enforce Jim Crow laws. These segregation practices affected every aspect of daily life, becoming enforced in professional offices, building entrances, schools, hospitals, asylums, jails, cemeteries, residential homes or neighborhoods, buses, rail cars, restrooms, water fountains, cashier windows, performance venues, hotels and even phone booths.

Not only were these institutions, services and objects separated, but it was also often the case that those for the African American community were not as nice or well maintained as those for the white community. It is also important to note that while Jim Crow was mainly focused on separating African Americans from Whites, Jim Crow laws also segregated those of Asian, Hispanic, and Spanish descent as well. In fact, segregation became so intense in certain areas that it was not uncommon to see signs posted at city or town limits warning African Americans or other “colored” races that they were not welcome there.

1960s Georgia restaurant sign

Though most prominent in the South, the North was not immune to Jim Crow type laws. Some northern states required blacks to own property to vote; schools and neighborhoods were segregated; businesses displayed “whites only” signs. As oppressive as the Jim Crow era was, it was also a time when black community members around the country stepped forward into leadership roles to vigorously oppose those laws.

Ida B. Wells was an African American woman who refused to leave a train car designated for whites only. In 1889, she became co-owner of the Memphis Free Speech and Headlight Newspaper and used her position to take on school segregation and sexual harassment. A mob eventually destroyed her newspaper and threatened her with death. This forced her to live in the north where she continued her efforts against Jim Crow laws and lynching. Black men were once routinely hanged by the neck from trees until dead for just an accusation of wrongdoing. Police ignored or downplayed these instances of "lynching".

Charlotte Hawkins Brown became the first black woman to create a black school in North Carolina and through her education work became a fierce and vocal opponent of Jim Crow laws. Joe Louis became the heavyweight boxing champion in 1937, and Jackie Robinson became the first African American to join major league baseball on April 15, 1947. In the segregated United States, having a black individual accomplish such astounding feats sent a message to white American about all that could be accomplished through equal opportunity.

Despite their achievements, Charlotte Hawkins Brown, Jackie Robinson, and other individuals and communities that attempted to defy Jim Crow laws were often met with extreme violence or even death. Lynchings, race riots, and other physical abuse were a constant threat to the African American community and any in the white community who attempted to resist Jim Crow as well.

The poverty of the Great Depression only deepened resentment, with a rise in lynchings, and after World War II, even black veterans returning home were met with violence. However, the post WWII era also saw a rise in civil rights activism and the desegregation of our armed services. These gains ushered in the decades-long civil rights movement that eventually resulted in the removal of Jim Crow laws.

Individuals like Martin Luther King Jr. and decisions such as Brown vs The Board of Education, the Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 tore down the racist infrastructure for good. Jim Crow is officially no longer enforced.

It's important to understand that Jim Crow was never specifically a “white versus black” situation. It was the result of greed, fear, hatred and ignorance. Many white people stood up for African Americans at a time when doing so might mean death. A good example was the over 320,000+ Northern whites who perished in the American Civil War which was primarily fought over the slavery issue; the Southern States’ Rights to own slaves despite any laws which the federal government might enact. Two of my relatives from New York were among the dead.

As with many instances of trying to right a wrong, I believe that Desegregation went too far. It attempted to forcefully integrate schools and educational institutions that were as open to blacks as they were to whites. Instead of encouraging academic excellence among all students, it brought about the lowering of standards and increased racial distrust among all groups.

Today there are still many wrongs to right in terms of helping minorities to achieve equal success, although many have succeeded thanks to persistence and helpful programs. Between 2017 and 2023, the number of Black-owned businesses increased by over 16%. Many Black entrepreneurs have become famous, including Founder and Chairperson of Urban One, Inc., Cathy Hughes, and Founder of FUBU, Daymond John. Entrepreneurs from minority communities can apply for and utilize several grants, such as the Rebuildtheblock’s Bridge and the Gap Fund.

It would be good for all students to learn about successful members of minority communities who became that way through belief in themselves and the willingness to work hard. These include Jay-Z, Ursela Burns, Tyler Perry, Michael Jordan, Janice Bryant Howroyd, Serena Williams, George Foreman, Shonda Rhimes and the list goes on.

Tyler Perry at his Studios

Learning about the inequities of the past is essential, but without studying the successes of individuals who have risen above those circumstances leaves students without vision. It makes them feel like the past assures their failure in today's world.

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