Jim Crow Era: Misunderstanding and Inequality

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As Harper Lee wrote in To Kill a Mockingbird, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.” Many whites were at fault for this, failing to comprehend what they were really doing to the African Americans. The Jim Crow era exemplified how whites disregarded African Americans equality and justice. Jim Crow began as a black character in musical shows that evolved into cruel laws. “Jim Crow was more than a series of rigid anti-black laws. It was a way of life. Under Jim Crow, African Americans were relegated to the status of second class citizens” (“The Origins of Jim Crow”). Jim Crow laws were harsh and degrading to the African Americans. Jim …show more content…

They were put in place to fully separate blacks from whites. “All major societal institutions reflected and supported the oppression of blacks” (“The Origins of Jim Crow”). It became normal to believe that whites were superior and that blacks were to be kept at the bottom of the racial rankings. Blacks were prohibited from anything that implied social equality and were forced to follow or face violence. “Jim Crow states passed statutes severely regulating social interactions between the races” (“The Origins of Jim Crow”). Signs were placed above doors, bathrooms, and any public facility. They were refused the right to vote or make any political decision. Separate prisons, hospitals, schools, beaches, churches and even cemeteries were created. Black facilities also were usually run down and less taken care of. Everything was kept apart, but there were some fighting …show more content…

President Kennedy first initiated the end of the Jim Crow era. “In 1963, President Kennedy compelled the segregationist governor of Alabama, George Wallace, to integrate the state's university system, a move that signaled the beginning of the end of the Jim Crow era” (Norton). The Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964, outlawing discrimination because of race, religion, sex, or national origin. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 occurred next, allowing all American citizens to vote. Finally, the Fair Housing Act of 1968 prevented discrimination in sales, rental, and financial aid of homes. Throughout these following five years, no state had the ability to discriminate against an individual due to their

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