Jim Crow laws were a collection of state and local statutes that legalized racial segregation. Named after a Black minstrel show character, the laws—which existed for about 100 years, from the post-Civil War era until 1968—were meant to marginalize African Americans by denying them the right to vote, hold jobs, get an education or other opportunities. Those who attempted to defy Jim Crow laws often faced arrest, fines, jail sentences, violence and death.

The post-World War II era saw an increase in civil rights activities in the African American community, with a focus on ensuring that Black citizens were able to vote. This ushered in the civil rights movement, resulting in the removal of Jim Crow laws and the end of legal segregation in America. In 1948 President Harry Truman ordered integration in the military, and in 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that educational segregation was unconstitutional, bringing to an end the era of “separate-but-equal” education. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, which legally ended the segregation that had been institutionalized by Jim Crow laws.

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS: 

• How did individuals and/or groups take actions to address Black civil rights? 

• To what extent did these actions and/or events further the aims of the Black Civil Rights movement?

1. Choose THREE of the nine boxes below to complete your research. Your three chosen boxes must form a line, such as one that would win you a game of tic-tac-toe. 

2. For each group: 

   1. Read the "required reading" and primary sources (yes, all of them! videos too!)

   2. Answer the comprehension questions (and read the answers of your peers!).

   3. Take notes. Record three key main ideas about the actions of each group and how those actions affected change. 

   4. Synthesize your knowledge by answering the synthesis question at the bottom of the note sheet for each page.