Racial Segregation

1. Notes Goal: Fill up the “learned” column of your KLI chart with information about life in the South during the 1930’s FYI: I will start the lecture with information that preceded the 1930’s – do not take notes on this background information- I will let you know when you can start taking notes 

2. Racial Segregation • January 1, 1863: Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which declared freedom for all slaves. • Although slaves were “free,” black people were affected by state laws that prevented equality

3. Plessy vs. Ferguson In 1892, 30-year-old Homer Plessy was jailed for sitting in a “white” section of a railroad car Plessy was 1/8th black, but under Louisiana law, he was considered “colored” and was supposed to ride in the “colored car.” Plessy argued that his arrest was a violation of the Constitution Ferguson, the judge, found Plessy GUILTY of refusing to leave the “white car.”

4. Plessy vs. Ferguson After an appeal, the case went to the Supreme Court, which upheld the decision and perpetuated the concept of “separate but equal.” This enabled schools, courthouses, libraries, hotels, theaters, restaurants, public transportation, etc., to segregate “coloreds” from “whites.”

7. From the 1880s to the 1960s most states enforced segregation through the “Jim Crow” laws named after a black-faced character in minstrel shows. Through these laws legal punishments could be imposed on people for having contact with members of another race. “Jim Crow” Laws YOU CAN START TAKING NOTES 

8. etiquette Blacks were expected to refer to whites with titles of superiority like BOSS, SIR, CAPTAIN, MISS, or MRS. Whites referred to blacks using derogatory terms like BOY, LADY, GIRL and the N word. Blacks were expected to let whites walk on the sidewalk and signs reading things like “Negroes and Dogs Not Allowed” were common

9. KKK • After the Civil War, The Ku Klux Klan was formed as a secret society that promoted white supremacy using violence and terrorism • After the 1920s the KKK was no longer secretive about their work and public violence against Blacks, including lynching, became common occurrences.

11. After WW1 • Even though Blacks had fought bravely for the US in WW1, they returned home from Europe to find the same, if not worse, discrimination and segregation. • The economic struggles of the 1930s seemed only to worsen the situation.

12. The Scottsboro Trials In 1931, a fight between white and black teen boys occurred on a train between Tennessee and Alabama. Two girls on a train, one well-known prostitute and one minor, were accused of violating the Mann Act (crossing state lines for prostitution). They immediately accused all nine black men of rape.

13. The Scottsboro Trials Eight of the nine boys were sentenced to death despite the fact that they were not even all in the same rail car. Appeals continued for years and only two were acquitted.

14. The Depression hit the South especially hard Everyone, seemed to be living in poverty During these years of turmoil, discontent started to grow in the minds of Whites and Blacks alike. The Great Depression (1930s)

15. It is in this setting that the novel To Kill a Mockingbird takes place. In a small town, in the deep South, in the early 1930s To kill a Mockingbird

16. Harper Lee Born Nelle Harper Lee, April 28, 1926 Grew up during the Great Depression Grew up in Monroeville, Alabama, in the heart of the South, where racial tension was high Dad was a lawyer Mother’s maiden name was Finch

17. To add to the complexity of the story, Harper Lee wrote it during a time of even greater social turbulence in the United States. In the 1950s the winds of change began to blow and Black Americans were no longer willing to be treated as lesser human beings. Harper Lee(1926-2016)

18. To Kill a Mockingbird • In the Fall of 1960, in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, To Kill a Mockingbird was published. • It shot to the top of the New York Times best seller list. • A country was finally ready to listen to the story of segregation and open their minds to the possibility of an America where Whites and Blacks could live together as equals.

19. Maycomb Country, Alabama (fictional) 1933-1935 Written: Mid-50s Narrator: Scout Finch 1st person narrator Use flashback Tone—childlike, humorous, innocent; as the novel progresses, dark, foreboding, and critic of society She bases Scout somewhat on herself Scout has matured over the years and humorously comments on the innocence she displayed in her thoughts / actions as a young girl She mostly tells of her thoughts but focuses on her brother Jem’s thoughts also Setting/ Basic Info

20. Jem Finch • Scout’s older brother • He undergoes a transformation from innocent child to a young adult who is faced with the realities of living in his small town and what prejudices exist right outside his front porch.

21. Atticus Finch • Father and only parent to Scout and Jem Finch • Local lawyer like Lee’s biological father • He is the lawyer who is defending a black man accused of raping a teenage girl in the 1930s during the midst of the Great Depression.