The Rise of Segregation 1865-1900 Institutional Racism in the United States The Rise of Segregation 1865-1900

The Kansas Exodus After the Civil War, African Americans struggle to be successful in the South Sharecroppers- pay large portion of crops as rent to white landlords Debt Racism Discrimination Jobs in Southern towns or move West

The Kansas Exodus In 1879, 6,000-15,000 African Americans leave the South and move to Kansas Form communities to help each other Work as farmers

Forming Cooperatives Back in the South, African Americans establish their own farming cooperatives Colored Farmers’ National Alliance (1886) 1.2 million members Threat to Democrats Appeal to Racism Prevent African Americans from voting

Voting Restrictions Poll Tax- pay $2.00 to vote Southern Requirement Discrimination to Blacks Poll Tax- pay $2.00 to vote Literacy Test- read and understand the state constitution Most African Americans can’t afford to pay African Americans born under slavery were mostly illiterate, or didn’t attend school Voting Officials weren’t strict in applying voting requirements to white voters African American voter registration fell by about 124,000-144,000

Jim Crow Laws 1883, Supreme Court overturns Civil Rights Act of 1875 No “State” can deny citizens equal protection Private organizations (hotels, theatres, railroads, restaurants, etc.) are free to practice segregation Racial segregation in public spaces Separate railroad cars Separate dining halls, waiting rooms Separate drinking fountains

Jim Crow Laws FMC= “Free Man of Color” Social rules do not apply to “negroes” unless it is to discriminate against them Empty Freedom Forever enslaved by the color of their skin Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Plessy vs. Ferguson, 1896 Homer Plessy- light-skinned, male, 1/8 African American Sat in “whites only” section of railroad car Refused to move, arrested, convicted

Plessy vs. Ferguson, 1896 Case goes to Supreme Court Plessy says his rights were violated under the 13th and 14th Amendments Court rules for equal political rights under the law, NOT equal social rights “Separate but equal”

African American Responses Ida B. Wells- African American woman from Tennessee Against mob violence Lynchings- hangings without proper court proceedings Demanded fair trials for the accused and proper punishment after honest conviction Lynchings decreased after 1900

African American Responses Mary Church Terrell Against lynching, racism, and sexism Worked with Jane Addams and Susan B. Anthony for Women’s Suffrage Founder National Association of Colored Women National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Women Wage-Earners Association Boycotted stores that refused services to blacks

African American Responses Booker T. Washington Achieve economic goals rather than political Atlanta Compromise Postpone fight for Civil Rights Seek education and jobs Important to have equal rights, but more important to be prepared to exercise those privileges “The opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory just now is worth infinitely more than the opportunity to spend a dollar in an opera-house Didn’t want to force the issue of civil rights because America wasn’t ready for it yet

African American Responses W.E.B. du Bois The Souls of Black Folk (1903) No advantage in giving up Civil Rights, even temporarily Protecting and exercising voting rights Founded the Niagara Movement The Crisis (1910)- official magazine for the NAACP