African American Life During Jim Crow*



(*Adapted by Pam Hale from Lessons Using Digital History
developed by the Virginia Center for Digital History.)

Between 1870 and 1910, southern states passed laws and constitutional amendments to limit the rights of African Americans. These laws included discriminatory barriers to voting and the establishment of segregated, poorly funded public facilities, such as schools, hospitals, and public transportation.

The Big Question

You will use the Internet links below to look for answers to the question:

How did African Americans in one Virginia community respond to the discriminatory conditions of day to day life?

Internet Resources

The Reflector: An African American newspaper in Charlottesville, Virginia
Covers 1933 to 1935

White Supremacy and African American Resistance in Charlottesville, Virginia
Covers 1900 to 1925

To help organize your notes use the organizer provided.  The organizer is shown below and is also available as a Word document which you can download to your workstation by clicking on this organizer link. The left column of the chart  contains a list of the ways in which African Americans could have responded. As you explore the two links, you will find examples of at least some (but probably not all) of the types of responses.  When you find examples, simply switch to your Word document and type a summary of them in the right-hand column or copy the information from the web site and paste it into your chart.

	Ways in which African Americans could have responded to the injustices	Examples
	Holding large protest rallies and marches
	Focusing on building up racial pride
	Trying to live as well as possible under an unjust system
	Not participating in politics at all
	Refusing to interact with white people
	Moving away from Virginia
	Focusing on improving skills and education of your race

Teacher Notes

This lesson has been adapted to this format to simplify access for East Ramapo students and teachers.  There has been no change in the content of the original lesson.