Jim Crow Laws :: essays research papers

&65279 Jim Crow LawsThe name for the Jim Crow Laws comes from a character in a poet-singer Show. TheMinstrel Show was one of the first forms of American entertainment, which started in 1843. They were performed by successors of black song and dance routine actors. The first MinstrelShow was started by a group of four men from Virginia, who all painted their faces black andperformed a small song and dance skit in a small theater in New York City. Thomas Dartmouthrice, a white actor, performed the Jim Crow Minstrel Show. Rice was inspired by an old black piece of music who sang and danced in Louisville, Kentucky (Clay, 1). The skit ended in the same chorusas the old black mans song which was Wheel about and turn about and do jis so, Ebry time Iwheel about I jump Jim Crow. Rices song and dance got him from Louisville to Cincinnati toPittsburgh to Philadelphia and then to New York City in 1832. Finally, Rice performed passim Europe, going to London and Dublin, where the Irish especiall y liked Ricesperformance (http//www.sims.berkely.edu/courses/is182/paint167.html). In the north, bondage was just about non existent, so blacks could be seen free in a lot ofcities in the north. In some cities even, blacks and whites lived together without a problem sosegregation was not seen completely throughout America. Before 1890, segregation was notseen in most of the south, which was where 80 percent of the black population lived (Massey, 17-20).Segregation actually started in the north, but when it moved into the south, it became ofttimes worse (Woodward, 17). It was thought that segregation came along with slavery, but therewere more reasons, like pure racial discrimination. Cities had ghettos where all of the blacks lived in acommunity, away from the whites. After slavery ended, the north did treat the blacks with morerespect, but not much more. In the north, slaves could not be separated from their families andthey could not be legally forced to work. crimson though th e blacks in the north were not slavesanymore, they were still treated poorly in some cases. Towards the end of the Civil War, thenorth was really showing their racism (Woodward, 21). Most hotels, motels and restaurantswould not let blacks inside, so shortly after the Civil Rights Act of 1875, the blacks tested theirrights on all sorts of public utilities. They did not, however, take advantage of these rights sothey would be assured to keep them. The south still treated blacks with disrespect.