The Jim Crow Laws and Racism in American History
Grade 5-9-This series entry covers the political and legal aspects of racism in the U.S. from the end of the Civil War to the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. During this period, African Americans gained their freedom and the right to vote, but essentially lost them again to such forces as the Ku Klux Klan, Black Codes and Jim Crow laws, and the "separate but equal" concept passed down in the Supreme Court case of Plessy v. Ferguson. These and the other obstacles that pervaded almost every aspect of African-American life are discussed. Some strides are examined in reference to the "Great Migration," Brown v. Board of Education, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Major civil rights leaders are profiled, including Booker T. Washington, Ida B. Wells, W. E. B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, and Rosa Parks. Quotes and excerpts from primary sources are introduced through sidebars. Occasional black-and-white photographs illustrate the volume. A useful general overview.Andrew Medlar, Chicago Public Library, ILCopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.