1) Write down your first reaction to this photograph. 2) What might be the purpose of a law that mandated this type of separate facilities? 3) When do you think this photo was taken? 4) Where do you think this photo was taken?

The Date Is: April 11, 1913

Segregation and jim crow in washington, dc

Loss of Voting Rights and Civil Rights Between 1877 and 1900, African-Americans lost the right to vote throughout the South, through the enactment of: Poll taxes, Literacy tests and Grandfather Clauses, and All-white primaries In DC, of course, all residents lost their voting rights in 1874 In 1883, the Supreme Court declared the Civil Rights Act of 1875 (guaranteeing equal treatment of all races in public accommodations) unconstitutional This led to the advent of Jim Crow and segregation throughout the South, and in Washington, DC

Jim Crow and Segregation Black people in DC were consistently denied access to public accommodations such as ice cream parlors, soda fountains, lunch rooms 1900: A black ticket holder was denied admittance to the orchestra; he sued and won, but was awarded only one cent in damages 1913: President Woodrow Wilson introduces segregationist policies in the federal government: Upper-level black bureaucrats were replaced by whites Dining rooms and rest rooms in federal offices were segregated African-Americans in DC were somewhat better off than those in the Deep South: Public transportation and public libraries remained desegregated Lynchings were not common in DC Although the education system was segregated, DC’s black schools were among the best in the nation

Early Struggles for Equality Early leaders in DC: Frederick Douglass Reverend Francis Grimke (15th Street Presbyterian Church) Professor Kelly Miller (Howard University) Mary Church Terrell (first president of the National Association of Colored Women) 1909—NAACP is organized, based on the militant principles announced by the Niagra Movement in 1906 1912—Washington chapter of the NAACP is founded The Washington chapter focused on attacking racist policies and practices in the federal government Organized a speakers’ bureau to visit black churches in DC; This effort succeeded in unifying DC’s black community to fight against segregation and Jim Crow

The Impact of Howard and U Street Howard University became the leading black university in the country during this period The college boasted a nationally recognized faculty, and produced half of the black doctors, and 96% of the black lawyers in the country In the midst of the Harlem Renaissance, Fortune magazine declared that DC surpassed even New York as a center of black culture, mainly because of the presence of Howard Howard became a major source of pride for DC’s black community Black commercial and cultural life were centered in the U Street neighborhood—between 7th and 16th streets, NW Shops, restaurants, theaters, nightclubs, and cabarets were crowded all along the commercial strip, providing some of the highest quality food and entertainment in the city Howard Theater was the liveliest place of entertainment in the city—and a regular stop on the “black circuit” of entertainers such as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Dizzie Gillespie, etc.

Galvanizing Events Black leaders were particularly incensed by white-owned stores’ refusal to hire black workers in black neighborhoods The New Negro Alliance organized boycotts and picketing of several of these stores, especially in the U Street area Dedication of the Lincoln Memorial (1922): Black dignitaries had to sit in a segregated area below the speakers’ platform The Marian Anderson Concert (1939): Anderson was the most famous and accomplished opera singer in the nation Organizers of her concert in DC were refused access to Constitution Hall and Central High School Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes stepped in and organized the concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial 75,000 people attended the concert, and different races mixed freely in the audience