- Tacoma Community College Library
- Tacoma Community College Library
- African American History
- Jim Crow Segregation & White Supremacy
African American History
Jim Crow Segregation & White Supremacy
"Jim Crow is the common name used to describe the racial segregation and disfranchisement inflicted upon African Americans in the postbellum South. The term “Jim Crow” was the name of a popular, black-face minstrel show character that originated in the 1830s. This character represented the ignorant, goofy, and inferior stereotype applied to African Americans during that period in American history. Jim Crow restrictions and laws became popular in the south during the post-Reconstruction era and continued well into the 20th century."
-From Revolts, Protests, Demonstrations, and Rebellions in American History: An Encyclopedia
(text and image are cited below - click on image to enlarge)
The book this image displays can also be accessed on Archive.org. See the link in the collection below.
Featured Websites & Collections
Linked below are websites, online exhibits, and other digital collections with resources on topics related to African American history in the US
- Black Lives MatterBlack Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Inc. is a global organization in the US, UK, and Canada, whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.
- Center for American ProgressProgressive-leaning think tank covering issues such as immigration; foreign policy and security; the economy; energy and the environment; and many others
- Lynching in America Confronting the Legacy of Racial TerrorFrom the Equal Justice Initiative, "Lynching in America documents more than 4400 racial terror lynchings in the United States during the period between Reconstruction and World War II."
- National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)Established in 1909, the NAACP stands strong today as one of the leaders in fighting racism. Find resources and information on their website.
- The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation"By educating, motivating, organizing and mobilizing our communities, the NCBCP seeks to encourage full participation in a barrier-free democratic process. Through technology, educational programs and civic leadership training, the Coalition works to expand, strengthen and empower Black communities to make voting and civic participation a cultural responsibility and tradition"
- National Museum of African American History and CultureIn partnership with the Smithsonian - "A place to explore history and culture through an
African American lens" - Reconstruction In America: Racial Violence after the Civil War, 1865-1876An interactive resource created by the Equal Rights Initiative
- Southern Poverty Law Center"The Southern Poverty Law Center is dedicated to fighting hate and bigotry and to seeking justice for the most vulnerable members of our society."
- SURJ: Showing Up for Racial Justice"A home for white people working for justice"
- Understanding Jim Crow: using racist memorabilia to teach tolerance and promote social justiceView this ebook freely by signing up with a free account at Archive.org
Background Articles
Linked below are articles that give a general overview of the topic, largely coming from subject-specific books or other reference sources. Find more articles like this by searching in Gale Ebooks, linked on the "Library Resources" tab of this guide.
- Jim Crow LawsAn article from Revolts, Protests, Demonstrations, and Rebellions in American History: An Encyclopedia
- Ku Klux Klan (KKK)Guns in American Society: An Encyclopedia of History, Politics, Culture, and the Law
- Understanding Jim Crow LawsFrom the Black Power Struggle feature collection from ThoughtCo.
- Jim Crow LawsAn overview article, with linked resources and images, from History.org
Featured Videos
Linked below are videos both freely online through websites like YouTube or TED, as well as from the library's collection in such databases as Kanopy, Films on Demand, or Academic Video Online. Click or hover your cursor over the icon to learn more about each item.
- America Explained, 58, The Tulsa Race MassacreA short video from Untold History - streaming on Alexander Street
- The Birth of a Nation & The Origins of the NAACPA short video from Black History in Two Minutes or so
- Crash Course: Plessy v Ferguson and Segregation: Crash Course Black American HistoryFrom the Crash Course series on Black American History
- The Foot Soldiers of White SupremacyA short, 2022 video from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Jim Crow of the North | Redlining and Racism in MinnesotaThe Full Documentary (~60-minutes) from Twin Cities PBS
- TED Talks: White Supremacy - Same Dog, Same Tricks-Time to Change the TrainingA talk by Russell Ellis at TEDxSUNYGeneseo
- White Supremacy, Eugenics and the History of Selective Breeding: NBC Left FieldA short video from NBC News
- Why is white supremacy growing in the United States?A video from The Bottom Line from Al Jazeera English, ~25 minutes
Featured Podcasts
Linked here are full podcasts or podcast episodes, as well as short audio recordings from news programs such as National Public Radio (NPR) and the like.
- Unreformed: the Story of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children [Podcast]A podcast looking at a state-run reform school called the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children in Mount Meigs, Alabama.
- Remembering Jim CrowAudio and linked resources from the documentary series from American Public Radio
- Jim Crow, Lynching and White Supremacy [Podcast]An episode of the podcast Teaching Hard History (includes transcript)
- 15 Minute History: History of the Second Ku Klux Klan [Podcast]Episode 132 from the University of Texas podcast, 15 Minute History
- Lynching: White Supremacy, Terrorism and Black Resilience [podcast]An episode of the Podcast Teaching Hard History
- Driving The Green Book Podcast"They drive from Detroit to New Orleans, collecting powerful, personal testimony about how Black Americans used the historic travel guide The Negro Motorist Green Book during the height of segregation as a vital resource to quell fears, find safe havens, and travel with dignity. As he drives the Green Book, Alvin unearths both inspiring and heartbreaking tales that tell a different story from what Hollywood would have you believe"
Featured Books & eBooks
Use the arrows to scroll through titles; click on the titles for more info and/or access
The Legacy of Hate Continues
“Let not any one pacify his conscience by the delusion that he can do no harm if he takes no part, and forms no opinion. Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name, and with the means which he helps to supply, because he will not trouble himself to use his mind on the subject.”
-John Stuart Mill in his 1867 inaugural address at the University of St. Andrews (cited below)
More Information
Be sure to view the later tabs in the guide to find resources about the continued racial inequality, discrimination, and violence. Find related content such as...
- On the Black Lives Matter tab - find info about the BLM movement and the more recent rise of violence & white supremacy in connection to the last few presidential elections
- On the Mass Incarceration & Systemic Racism tab - find more info about the systems of inequality and continued impact of Jim Crow and the nation's history of slavery on black lives today
Except where otherwise noted, the content in these guides by Tacoma Community College Library is licensed under CC BY SA 4.0.
This openly licensed content allows others to cite, share, or modify this content, with credit to TCC Library. When reusing or adapting this content, include this statement in the new document: This content was originally created by Tacoma Community College Library and shared with a CC BY SA 4.0 license.
Tacoma Community College Library - Building 7, 6501 South 19th Street, Tacoma, WA 98466 - P. 253.566.5087
Visit us on Instagram!