ETHNIC STUDIES CIVIL RIGHTS FINAL

What is De Jure Segregation?

Separation enforced by law

What is De Facto Segregation?

Separation by common understanding and personal choice

What United States Amendment states that no state should deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law, nor deny any person equal protection of the laws?

The 14th

What year did Louisiana propose the “separate car” Act?

1890

What did the “separate car” act do?

Required railroads to maintain ¨equal but separate¨ facilitates for whites and non-whites

What makes the “separate car” Act so important?

This was the first state law that officially required racial segregation in any business or public service

In the Separate Car Act, passengers were required to sit in the correct areas or they had to…

face a $20 fine, or a 20-day jail sentence

Why did civil rights activists in the 1890s, like Albion Tourgée, denounce the Separate Car Act?

They believed that it violated the 14th Amendment

What was the “Citizens’ Committee”?

A group created by New Orleans activists to challenge segregation laws

What was Tourgée’s plan to challenge the Separate Car Act in court?

To have a black man with light skin (passing as a white man) board a train in New Orleans and sit in the white car, thus raising the problem of how race can be determined for separate seating.

Why did the US Supreme Court uphold the lower courts’ decision that the Separate Car Act was unconstitutional?

They reasoned that while the 13th Amendment abolished slavery, it could not protect African Americans from state laws that treated them unequally. They also said that the law was constitutional in establishing “separate but equal” cars.

How many U.S. states required segregation in 1950?

17 states

How many U.S. states banned segregation in 1950?

16

How many U.S. states allowed the local government to make laws about segregation in 1950?

4

How many U.S. states had no laws about segregation in 1950?

11

Why is the year 1619 significant for U.S. history?

The first reported slave ship docked in U.S. territory

What did the 13th Amendment do?

abolish slavery

Where did the term “Jim Crow” originate?

From a New York comedian who performed in blackface and did “minstrel shows” where he had a dance routine called “Jump Jim Crow”, which mocked African Americans.

What were Black Codes?

Laws created by southern states designed to limit the freedom of African Americans and ensure their availability as a cheap labor force after slavery was abolished during the Civil War.

What were Jim Crow laws?

a collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation and were meant to marginalize African Americans by denying them the right to vote, hold jobs, get an education or other opportunities.