Segregation in the United States was a part of the Jim Crow Laws which were a set of laws and system of society that lasted until 1968 and started in the late 1880s and its basic practice was that Blacks were not equal to whites and should be treated as such. They had to drink from separate fountains, live in separate neighborhoods, go to separate schools, etc. And these situations that they had to live in were always less pristine and humane than the situations in which the Whites were able to live in. A well known situation that happened during this time is the story of Emmett Till. Emmett Till was fourteen years old when he lost his life. He was dragged out of his grandfather’s house in the South where racism was much more thicker (in comparison to the North), by a racist group that still exist to this day know as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and was brutally beaten, tortured, castrated, and had many other horrific things done to him. before being shot in the head and completely killed. His body was found days later in a river. The men who did it knew no justice for their crimes committed against that young boy. What happened for him to have his life taken away in this way, when it was just starting? He was accused by a white woman of whistling at her. And worse? Years later on her death bed she confessed that he did not do it. Now, even if he did this is not a reason for him to have died, and I hope that all of us in 2020 can understand and recognize that. Another story is the story of a small group of nine students known as the Little Rock Nine. These brave students dared to attend an all white school towards the end of segregation, and received a lot more than some backlash on social media. They were threatened, had physical harm brought to them, and had many crowds waiting for them at school to violently protest against them. Even though segregation and Jim Crow Laws were removed in the year of 1968 blacks still amazingly still had and have to fight for their rights.
Here it shows a black man drinking from a “colored fountain.” This was the only type of fountain he could drink from and as you can see it is not the most prestigious.
Here it shows a protest that happened during Segregation that shows the protesters, protesting for equal school and educational opportunities for the black children of that time.
Here it shows a racist group known as the Ku Klux Klan. They have been been known to have and own white supremacist values, as well as committing horrendous crimes against blacks dating back to the 1800s.
By: Thuri Amor
Comments