Race Relations under “Jim Crow”
After Reconstruction, discrimination against African Americans became the new “slavery.” Laws were passed preventing
African Americans from voting and exercising their “civil” rights. Violence against blacks was on the rise. Lynching was
the punishment of choice for blacks who did not “know their place” and had gotten too “uppity.”
Southern Laws to Prevent Blacks from Voting
Local and state governments passed a series of laws to prevent African Americans from voting, and therefore gain
political power, and to prevent African Americans from exercising their constitutional civil rights
Poll tax – Required voters to either own property or pay a poll tax, an annual fee paid in order to vote. Of course,
most African Americans could not afford to pay the tax.
Literacy Test - Required voters to be literate, read, write and understand basic knowledge. Again most African
Americans couldn’t pass because of the questions were harder or the tests were simply impossible to pass.
Grandfather Clause – This allowed whites, who had failed the literacy test, or who could not afford to pay the poll
tax, to be able to vote. Several states enacted the Grandfather clause that allowed one to vote if they had already voted,
or if their grandfather or father voted before 1860.
All of these laws were passed in response to the 15th Amendment which was ratified in 1870.
Segregation, Southern Laws and Supreme Court Cases
U. S. v. Reese (1876)
The Supreme Court ruled the 15th amendment did not give voting rights to anyone. Instead, according to the Supreme
Court, the amendment just made it illegal to use race to deny voting rights. The Southern States had been careful in
writing laws. Poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clause laws said nothing about race.
Jim Crow Laws
Many southern states passed laws that formally segregated the races in open society. This was another reminder to
African Americans that they should “stay in their place.” These laws basically told African Americans that they were going
to be treated as second class citizens. In the many areas of the North, the races were separated by custom, housing
patterns, etc. This was referred to as “defacto” segregation. If the races were separated by legal means or codified
into law, then it is referred to as “dejure” segregation. All the Southern states, plus some in the Midwest, chose to enact
Jim Crow laws. Named after a black minstrel show character, Jim Crow laws were designed to separate races in both
public and private facilities. Jim Crow laws segregated schools, hospitals, parks, theaters, transportation, restrooms,
water fountains, restaurants, hotels, etc.
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896)
Plessy v. Ferguson started as a test case to judge legality of a Louisiana law that required separate railroad cars for
whites and blacks. Plessy, who was 1/8th black, was hired by the railroad to board the all-white railroad car and
challenge the law on purpose. Ferguson was the conductor who had Plessy removed from the whites-only car and
arrested.
The Supreme Court ruled that segregation was legal as long as the facilities for blacks were equal to the facilities provided
for whites, hence the phrase "separate but equal." The equal part of “separate but equal” was the hard part. Almost
every facility designed for blacks was very unequal and inferior again reminding African Americans of their “place” in
southern society.
Racial etiquette, Lynching and Racial prejudice
A system of racial etiquette, a set of informal rules and customs that governed relations among blacks and whites and
affirmed their second class status to “stay” in their place, was developed. To show deference to white society, Black men
would be referred to as “boy,” while white men were referred to as “mister.” Blacks were not allowed to touch whites, they
were not to look white people directly in their eyes, and if blacks and white met on the sidewalk, the blacks would have to
yield the sidewalk to the whites and stand in the street. For Blacks that did not “stay” in their place or were charged with
some “offense,” they might be the target of violence. The most serious “punishment” was to be lynched, where one was
hung by an angry mob, always without going through the legal system, with no official charges, no lawyer, no rights, or no
trial. Lynching was not only used as punishment, but also as a warning or an example for others to spread fear and to
intimidate. Many of those lynched were mutilated before hanging, burned, beaten, tortured, or shot. Between 1885 and
1900, 2500 blacks were lynched. Those who responsible for the lynching were rarely caught or prosecuted, and if they
were brought to trial, the white jury would find them “not guilty.”
Although many blacks migrated north to escape racial prejudice, most found segregation and discrimination as bad in the
North, if not worse, than it had been in the South. In the north, this “defacto” segregation developed in the area over the
years, rather than being codified into law. As more blacks moved north and began to compete for “white” jobs, violence
also spread to the North. Not only were there lynchings in the north, but also several race riots in major cities.
African American Leaders
As discrimination, segregation and violence continued, many black leaders emerged with new ideas.
Madame C J Walker developed hair styling and products for African American women. She created a successful mail
order business selling hair products for African American women, a chain of beauty parlors, and beauty training schools.
Her home became a gathering place for black leaders, she worked with the NAACP, black women’s organizations and
contributed to help black welfare and education programs.
Ida B. Wells grew up the daughter of slaves. After emancipation, she attended Fisk University and became a teacher
and journalist. She won a lawsuit against a railroad for having segregated passenger cars although that ruling was later
overturned. In 1892, after three friends from Memphis were lynched, she began an editorial campaign and a nationwide
speaking tour, promoting laws against lynching. As a result, the newspaper for which she worked, was burned down.
She later moved to Chicago and continued her fight against lynchings. She also became active in other civil rights groups
and supported women’s suffrage.
Booker T. Washington founded Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in 1881. Washington felt African Americans needed
important skills in order to compete in society. He advocated delaying the push for political equality, instead, pushing the
importance of economic security by vocational skills (carpentry, plumbing, etc.) that would be crucial to the success of the
society as a whole. He advanced the ideas that productivity and profitable work skills are most important and that all
African Americans use their intellect for practical everyday life.
According to Booker T., African Americans will be accepted by white culture, when they succeed economically. He
advocated patience with the white community and to give them time to accept Black people and the fact of their equal
rights. Washington tried to quiet white concerns about the fight for political equality. He consulted with many political
leaders on race relations, and was the first African American invited to the White House in 1901 to talk with Teddy
Roosevelt. His autobiography is called Up From Slavery
W. E. B. DuBois became the first African American to earn a Ph. D. from Harvard. DuBois rejected Washington’s ideas.
He advocated that African Americans should step forward and lead their people to political and social equality. To do this,
he encouraged African Americans to obtain a liberal arts educations. He believed in the “Talented Tenth,” 10% of the
black community would become the leaders of a civil rights movement. DuBois famously recognized that the main
problem of the 20th century would the problem of race relations.
DuBois founded the Niagara Movement in 1905. It was dedicated to a call for full civil rights and an end to discrimination.
In 1910, he joined the newly formed NAACP, where he would become publication director. He became one of the best
known early leaders in the Civil Rights Movement.
George Washington Carver became famous for scientific and agricultural research, promoting the peanut as an
alternative to cotton growing. Carver would discover more than 300 uses for the peanut, not including peanut butter.
Organizations to help African Americans
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in an Inter-racial organization founded in
1909 with the goals of abolishing segregation, ending discrimination and opposing racism. The NAACP worked for the
establishment of civil rights. By 1914, there were 50 branches, 6,000 members. The NAACP worked through the courts
winning their first victory in 1915 when the Supreme Court declared the Grandfather Clause unconstitutional.
Other early groups pushing civil rights for African Americans were Mutual aid societies, Social workers, Church groups,
and settlement houses. The YMCA and YWCA started programs for African Americans. In 1900, Booker T. Washington
founded the National Negro Business League. The National Urban League, founded in 1911, worked for improved job
and housing opportunities for African Americans.