How Did Jim Crow Laws Affect African Americans In The Early 1900s

The early 1900’s in the United States was a time that will never be forgotten, these years brought much change to our society both good and bad. Depending on what race you were, you were either happy or miserable. Although the African Americans of this time had gained their freedom thanks to the 13th amendment, they were still treated as second-class citizens. They were treated as if they were not even human beings and separated from the whites thanks to the Jim Crow laws. The Jim Crow Laws were statutes established in the South to segregate the blacks and whites. Everything from schools, trains and restaurants were segregated. Many people know about the Jim Crow laws but wonder how and where they began. In 1862, Homer Plessy: an octaroon,

boarded a white only train in Louisiana. He was jailed and once in court argued that the Louisiana segregation laws were in violation of his 13th and 14th amendment rights. The court decided that equal rights did not mean co-mingling of the races therefore legalizing the “separate but equal” doctrine. In theory these laws were imposed to create “separate but equal” treatment and facilities but in reality blacks were always inferior.
These laws did a lot to degrade blacks but were not the only tactics used against them.

The whites were becoming more and more afraid of the blacks gaining power so they did everything they could to “bring back their way of life”. At this time, blacks were already guaranteed suffrage by the 15th amendment, so poll taxes and literacy tests were imposed as a way to exclude them from voting. Black people could often not afford these taxes and could not pass literacy tests due to the low quality education they received. This made it impossible for a black person to be elected to make any real change. There were even vigilante groups like the Ku Klux Klan who would terrorize and lynch the blacks. One of the biggest disadvantages toward the blacks was economics. If they were paid more for their hard work they would’ve been able to move out of the south quicker and not had to deal with the mistreatment. All of these factors contributed to the regression of the blacks but the most powerful had to be the Jim Crow

laws.
Luckily though, some blacks were able to make it through and began a revolution known as the Harlem Renaissance; the period when black urban culture emerged and exerted its immense influence throughout the world. During this time we were able to see excellent forms of music, art, dance and most importantly literature from many African Americans; one being James Weldon Johnson. Johnson was the definition of black excellence; in his lifetime he managed to become a lawyer, teacher, foreign diplomat, novelist, songwriter and even became the head of the NAACP. One of Johnson’s most famous works was The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man. The story is about a young white boy who discovers he is half black. As he travels the world he begins to see everything differently through the lens of his race. Throughout the novel we see that he has some issues with self- identity. He goes back and fourth identifying as a white man then as a colored man. This novel uniquely details the African American experience of the time. Years of violence and stigma being thrown at the blacks resulted in many things, the most evident being hatred; hatred towards the whites and hatred towards themselves.
When people found out that this seemingly racist novel was written by Johnson, there was some confusion since he was the opposite of a racist man and seemed to be very proud of his race.

People wondered how much of it was accurate to his life. Although no one except him knows whether he ever felt these things or not, it is evident that this novel was written to prove a point. The main character represents the feelings of the majority of blacks at the time. One can only imagine how blacks felt growing up in a world that constantly de-humanized them and treated them like garbage. The Jim Crow Laws created a sort of self-hatred for the blacks. They were treated as if they were a disease that the whites did not even want to be close to. Some African Americans lived their whole lives being treated this way and that had to do something to their self esteem. By the end of the novel the unnamed narrator finally declares himself a white man. He is the father of two and the widow of one. In the last words of the novel he states, “I no longer have the same fear for myself of my secret’s being found out, for since my wife's death I have gradually dropped out of social life; but there is nothing I would not suffer to keep the brand from being placed upon them [his children]” (Johnson 153). The character feels like a coward for not embracing and standing with his race, but for the sake of his children he is willing to live with that so that his children will not have to; so that they

won’t be stigmatized by society. Anyone in his position would do the same to prevent their children from going through the turmoil that was Jim Crow. These laws and other forms of racism caused fear and hatred in other ways as well.
Imagine this scenario: you are a young African American boy living peacefully with his family in Detroit. Your father hates all whites but you don’t understand why, since they have always been kind to you. After your father dies you move to the south and it seems like you've entered a completely different world. You cant even grab a bite to eat without having to check for the sign that said “We serve negroes”, and all of the white people now look at you like if you are vermin. This is exactly what author James Baldwin depicts in Notes of a Native Son. This novel captures the life of a negro at the dawn of the civil rights movement. Baldwin moved to the south and saw first hand how the “Negroes” were being treated there. He was always a kind and caring young man but when he moved to the south he turned into a completely different person. He was exposed to racism like never before. On one incident, after he had had enough, he lashed out on a waitress because she told him that they didn’t serve Negroes. After the comment by the waitress he states, “This made me colder and more murderous that ever. I felt like I had to do something with my hands. I wanted her to come close enough for me to get her neck between my hands. (58)” After that he threw a cup which did not hit her but almost did. In an instant, he became living proof of the stereotypes that made Negroes so hated by the whites. But how did such a calm and friendly boy turn into a cruel and violent man? The answer is the Jim Crow Laws. Hatred towards whites was inevitable at this time. The blacks had done nothing to deserve this treatment yet nothing was changing; not yet at least.
On December 1st 1955 Rosa Parks ignited the uprising of the civil rights movement. We all know the story of Parks not wanting to give up her seat to a black man on a bus, but was it really her tired feet that compelled her to do this? Contrary to what we are told in school, the answer is no. Local civil rights leaders had been planning to challenge the Jim Crow laws for a while. After Parks’ arrest the bus boycott immediately followed. On December 20, Martin Luther King issued the statement: “The year old protest against city buses is officially called off, and the Negro citizens of Montgomery are urged to return to the buses tomorrow morning on a non-segregated basis.” Martin Luther King along with his supporters had had their first great victory and there would be many more to come.
The fight against Jim Crow was extensive and extremely difficult but even with their nonviolent tactics, the African Americans were able to prevail. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Fair Housing Act of 1968 finally ended the legal sanctions to Jim Crow. Years later we look back and wonder how we allowed this to happen for so long. We think of the blacks as a mass but forget that they were each individuals who had a different experiences. Novels like The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man and Notes of a Native Son give us a look at what people were actually experiencing at this time. Although it is ugly, we should never forget about this part of our history because some of the consequences have lasted to this day.