Civil Rights
Session 3: Remembering Jim Crow

Materials

• Internet access
• “The Impact of Jim Crow Laws on American Society” worksheet (Attachment B)
• “Sample Grading Rubric: Remembering Jim Crow” (Attachment C)

1. Ask students what they already know about Jim Crow laws and whether they can give any examples of Jim Crow laws. Using the students’ responses, define Jim Crow, and offer some examples, which can be found at the Web site Remembering Jim Crow, located at <http://www.americanradioworks.org/features/remembering/index.html>. Help students make connections with rights that are guaranteed under the Constitution of the United States to all citizens. How did Jim Crow laws violate the constitutional rights of African Americans?
   
   
2. Have students work in small groups to research the effects of Jim Crow laws on the African American population and the white population in the South. Hand out Attachment B to each group to help guide their research efforts. Begin by having students listen to and read historical accounts related to Jim Crow laws. These documents can be found at the Remembering Jim Crow Web site mentioned above. This site is well organized and offers multiple resources; it provides students with the opportunity to listen to short oral histories, examine photographs, and read short personal histories. Other Web sites that offer information and lessons regarding Jim Crow are The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow at <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/index.html> and The History of Jim Crow at <http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/home.htm>.
   
   
3. After they complete their research, have students, acting as citizen advocates for the African American community, write a report to be presented before a “legislative committee.” This report will argue reasons that the Jim Crow laws should be repealed. Encourage students to take on the role of stakeholder in their community. What detrimental effects does a segregated system have on a community? Why?
   
   
4. Encourage students to share their reports with the class. Ask students what part of their research made the biggest impact on them.
   
   
5. Assessment: A sample grading rubric for this session is found at Attachment C.