Jim Crow laws were created so African Americans were suppressed down to the level of slaves that they once were. Jim Crow started in 1887 and ended sometime during the Civil Rights movement, led by Martin Luther King, Jr. These laws were inhumane and unnecessarily demeaning. Each one of these laws were created and enforced by whites. Jim Crow was not so much a who but a what. It was the name of racist system, derived from a highly stereotypical black character created and performed by a man named Thomas Dartmouth “Daddy” Rice. Soon after he quit performing, the name was used as a derogatory term for blacks, and later, when they were formed, became an official name for the laws. In Jerrold Packard 's “American Nightmare: The History of Jim
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In his article, Pilgrim later states, “Unfortunately for blacks, the Supreme Court helped undermine the Constitutional protections of blacks with the infamous Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) case, which legitimized Jim Crow laws and the Jim Crow way of life.” Even though these laws were clearly in breach of the 14th amendment, Congress passed the “Separate but Equal” doctrine, allowing states to divide public facilities and to make sure whites were not “contaminated” by blacks. Separating the two races made it so each black felt as though they were inferior. Which at that point in time, they were so inferior they were compared to dogs. Signs on business doors often said, “No dogs, Negros, Mexicans.” These are just a few examples of how they were …show more content…
Jerrold Packer wrote, “Religion stood as the most potent rationale white Americans possessed in affirming their ascendency over the colored races…” (pg. 154) White men and women, believing that it was God’s will to discriminate against blacks, treated them as if they were little to nothing.
In Michelle Alexander’s article, “How to Dismantle the ‘New Jim Crow '" she states, “…a little reform here, a little reform there, and then ... nothing. A new normal that looks and feels much like the old.” This sentence proves that despite the laws being inhumane and vicious, there will always be people who want to keep them alive. These laws were just a reminder to blacks that they could never be as “powerful” as white
In his article, Pilgrim later states, “Unfortunately for blacks, the Supreme Court helped undermine the Constitutional protections of blacks with the infamous Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) case, which legitimized Jim Crow laws and the Jim Crow way of life.” Even though these laws were clearly in breach of the 14th amendment, Congress passed the “Separate but Equal” doctrine, allowing states to divide public facilities and to make sure whites were not “contaminated” by blacks. Separating the two races made it so each black felt as though they were inferior. Which at that point in time, they were so inferior they were compared to dogs. Signs on business doors often said, “No dogs, Negros, Mexicans.” These are just a few examples of how they were …show more content…
Jerrold Packer wrote, “Religion stood as the most potent rationale white Americans possessed in affirming their ascendency over the colored races…” (pg. 154) White men and women, believing that it was God’s will to discriminate against blacks, treated them as if they were little to nothing.
In Michelle Alexander’s article, “How to Dismantle the ‘New Jim Crow '" she states, “…a little reform here, a little reform there, and then ... nothing. A new normal that looks and feels much like the old.” This sentence proves that despite the laws being inhumane and vicious, there will always be people who want to keep them alive. These laws were just a reminder to blacks that they could never be as “powerful” as white