The roots of Jim Crow laws began as early as 1865, immediately following the

ratification of the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States. Jim
Crow laws were enforced after the 13th Amendment in December 1865 to prevent
Black people from exercising their rights and freedoms.

Jim Crow laws kept whites and Black people separated in all public facilities and
sometimes neighborhoods. The laws remained heavily intact in the South throughout
the Civil Rights Movement until the establishment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and
the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Black codes were enforced following the 13th Amendment, which consisted of various
laws to restrict the rights of African Americans. An example of black codes involved
vagrancy laws. Under vagrancy laws, African Americans were required to be employed
and have a permanent residence, or else they could be fined or arrested. If one could
not pay the fines, they were subject to pay off the fines through cheap labor.

Black codes did not disappear but rather evolved into Jim Crow laws.

The term “Jim Crow” was originally used as a racial slur to describe Black people. Jim
Crow first appeared in 1828, when a short skit performer named Thomas Dartmouth
Rice dressed in blackface to create an offensive stereotype of Black people. This led
Jim Crow to become a very popularized racial slur.

Jim Crow laws were formally defined as the codified system that oppressed Black
people, which were enforced by local and state authorities through segregation. “White
only” and “Colored only” signs were posted on public facilities, such as restrooms,
restaurants, stores, water fountains, barbershops, and churches. “Colored only”
facilities were almost always less accommodating and not well-kept.

Upon the abolishment of slavery, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) first appeared in 1866. KKK
groups and rallies reappeared in the early decades of the 1900s when Jim Crow laws
were implemented.

One of the most significant effects of Jim Crow laws was the Great Migration between
1910 and 1970. More than five million Black people relocated to other regions in the
US northern and midwestern states that were less oppressive than the South and
presented African Americans with better opportunities.

Founded in 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) was one of the first civil rights organizations to appear. More organizations
began to emerge starting in the 1940s.
Civil rights protests and campaigns became more common in the mid-20th century as
Black people began to fight back against Jim Crow laws.

Jim Crow laws were officially abolished when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 were signed into law. More laws followed over the next few
decades to reinforce equal rights.

After enslaved peoples were freed, it took 100 years for African Americans to gain
human and civil rights. In conclusion, Jim Crow laws were arguably one of the biggest
obstacles of oppression that Black people overcame in the 20th century.