Narratives of Citizenship and Race since Emancipation

Jim Crow Laws and Customs

States and local governments towards the end of Reconstruction began passing a series of laws that would be referred to by the Southerners as protecting "our southern way of life." ³⁷ Most of these laws were passed between 1876 and 1965, though there are some laws that occurred prior to 1876. These racist laws are referred to as the Jim Crow laws. As stated by Richard Wormser, in his book The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow, these laws were comprised of a "complex system of racial laws and customs that ensured white social, legal and political domination of blacks." ³⁸ Even though racial discrimination has its origin in the antebellum period, "the specific and systematic racial discrimination characterized by Jim Crow was a product of the post-emancipation era." ³⁹ Thus during these years the Jim Crow laws could be found in virtually every southern state and most northern states as well.

Some of the most powerful Jim Crow laws were those meant to disenfranchise black men. During the early years after emancipation, blacks made sure to exercise their right to vote and actually helped many African Americans get into political office. But starting in 1880, the white southerners were hell-bent to put an end to that. Literacy tests and physical threats of harm made it virtually impossible for many blacks and poor whites to vote. A grandfather clause was passed and proved to be one of the most powerful of all the voting regulations. The law stated that you could vote if you had a grandfather who voted. Clearly, if you were a black slave recently emancipated, you did not have a grandfather who voted! Grandfather clause laws wiped out the black voting population, but not the poor white in the states or municipalities where they existed. The southerners wanted to make sure the blacks were disenfranchised, and also not joining forces with the poor whites. ⁴⁰ By separating these two populations, who were beginning to gain strength under the new Populist Party, they once again stripped black men of their ability to determine their future and get ahead. ⁴¹ These Jim Crow laws extinguished any chance of meaningful citizenship for blacks. In 1900, the number of blacks registered to vote in Alabama dropped from 180,000 to 3,000. ⁴²

Besides disenfranchisement, Jim Crow laws were best known for their ability to segregate black Americans in just about all public facilities. Statutes existed for segregation in railroad cars and waiting areas, buses, restaurants, schools, bathrooms, drinking fountains, hospitals and even schools for the blind as discussed in our seminar with Jonathan Holloway. Even the United States Armed Forces were segregated until 1948 when President Harry S. Truman signed Executive Order 9981 desegregating them. The famous Plessy v. Ferguson decision in 1896 required railroads, "to provide equal but separate accommodation for the white and colored races" in Louisiana. ⁴³ North Carolina had a law that stated, "Books shall not be interchangeable between the white and colored schools, but shall continue to be used by the race first using them." ⁴⁴ In Mississippi you could be fined for even urging equality, "Any person...who shall be guilty of printing, publishing or circulating printed, typewritten or written matter urging or presenting for public acceptance or general information, arguments or suggestions in favor of social equality or of intermarriage between whites and Negroes, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to fine not exceeding five thousand (5,000.00) dollars or imprisonment not exceeding six (6) months or both." ⁴⁵

Another very common Jim Crow law was that which forbade interracial marriage. Miscegenation was strictly forbidden in many states. The issue of what constituted a person to be of the Negro race had to be determined in these laws. Some states considered any "black blood" would deem you black, but most stated settled on one-eighth as the final percentage. Anti-miscegenation laws in some states included other nationalities as well. In Nevada, the statute listed inappropriate marriage candidates by race and color for Caucasians, including blacks, "Malay or brown race, Mongolian or yellow race, or Indian or red race. ⁴⁶ Twenty-five states, in 1896, considered marriage of whites with nonwhites illegal. ⁴⁷

Yet Jim Crow customs could be even more pervasive than laws. Black men, for example, knew that avoiding physical contact with white women was not sufficient; the mere act of making eye contact, or offering to light a cigarette, was considered reason for lynching by whites. There was a very well established code of behavior that governed day-to-day interactions among blacks and whites in the south. ⁴⁸ The southern way had to be taught the rules of segregation that were not legislated. Blacks rarely came to visit a home owned by a southern white person, but if there was discussion it might occur on a back porch. Yet, inside that very home was probably a black domestic servant who was cooking their meals and raising their children. Blacks always were expected to defer to whites and the children were taught this from the very beginning. A black man had to wait until the white man or woman was taken care of first in a store. A white person expected that a black man would take his hat off and bow slightly to acknowledge his or her presence. ⁴⁹ The superiority of the white race was clearly signified in these rules of southern etiquette. Jane Dailey writes that Du Bois once said, that in relation to race and place, "A black man is a person who has to ride Jim Crow in Georgia." ⁵⁰