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Jim Crow Laws Essay

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Comedy performer Thomas “Jim Crow” Rice coined the term “Jim Crow” through his derogatory minstrel shows in which danced and sang in an offensive way towards African Americans while covered in black shoe polish. Even though Rice was only trying to entertain his audience, his performances suggested that all African Americans were ignorant useless buffoons Rice’s performances were so derogatory towards African Americans that they removed signs of humanity from them and caused people to become less compassionate towards Negroes. As a “system of laws and customs that imposed racial segregation and discrimination on Africans”, Jim Crow Laws were ubiquitous in America from the 1860’s to the 1960’s (Jim Crow Movement). These Jim Crow Laws came …show more content…

During Tom Robinson’s trial, Tom is never referred to as Mr. Robinson but referred to as “Boy”, “Black Nigger”, or “That Nigger” (Lee 196). According to Jim Crow Etiquette, “Whites [do] not use courtesy titles when referring to Blacks” because courtesy titles, such as Mr., Mrs., and Ms. imply equality and respect (Pilgrim). Characters use derogatory names when referring to Tom to imply that African Americans are uncivilized beings of a lower class structure than Caucasians. Had the characters referred to Tom as Mr. Robinson, a tone of equality would have spread through the courtroom and Tom would have been judged as an equal under the law. If the all-Caucasian jury had judged the Tom Robinson case with equality, then Tom Robinson would not have been found guilty and the social hierarchy in Maycomb would have crumbled. Instead, the jury declared Tom Robinson guilty, because it does not want to disturb the social hierarchy in Maycomb. Just as African Americans were called “Niggers”, Caucasians who “associated with Blacks in a too friendly or casual manner ran the risk of being called a ‘Nigger lover’” (Davis). Not only were Caucasians chastising African Americans, but they were also castigating members of their fellow race because they could possibly upset the social hierarchy during Post Reconstruction America. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch is berated by Caucasians in Maycomb by being called a “Nigger lover”

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