The United States has a long history of racial discrimination that traces back to slavery. By the mid-19th century, American society split: the South depended on slave labor for its agricultural economy, while the North moved toward industrial growth and abolished slavery. A growing abolitionist movement argued that slavery was immoral and must end. With Abraham Lincoln’s election victory, abolitionists gained influence, and Southern states decided to rebel to preserve slavery.
The Civil War began in 1861 and the North prevailed. Slavery was ended, yet integrating formerly enslaved people into American life remained deeply contested. Many former abolitionists, while opposing slavery, did not universally believe in full equality. In the aftermath of the war, Southern leaders enacted broad segregation laws aimed at separating white and Black communities, creating parallel, non-overlapping social spaces. Today these measures are collectively known as the Jim Crow laws. — National Archives.
Voting in elections
New restrictions emerged in the wake of Reconstruction, effectively barring most Black citizens from voting. Southern states devised a system of voting rules that made registration a barrier. Often, voters faced fees, literacy requirements, or other hurdles that hit Black communities hardest as many were poor. Some provisions were staged as constitutional or legal requirements, yet they served to dilute Black political power.
Literacy tests and other qualifications varied by locality, and in many cases the outcome depended on who administered the tests. In some jurisdictions, the tests and residency rules were aimed at limiting Black participation while allowing white citizens with similar backgrounds to vote. These measures helped ensure that political life in many Southern states remained overwhelmingly white for decades. In Louisiana, for example, registered Black voters numbered only a small fraction of eligible citizens by the early 20th century. — National Archives.
In some cases, poorer whites also faced obstacles, though state officials often showed less concern for their own hardship.
Those without voting rights could not serve on juries or run for local office. As a result, African Americans were largely excluded from political life in most Southern states. The era echoed the revolutionary slogan “no taxation without representation,” yet it did not translate into political equity for Black Americans during Jim Crow.
Trains, buses and cinemas
Contact between the races was limited. African Americans and whites lived in different neighborhoods and often in separate facilities. Employment tended to be segregated by racial lines, with Black workers restricted to lower-level positions. Public transportation became a focal point for enforcing racial separation, and many states moved to formalize this separation.
By the 1890s, many Southern states introduced separate train cars for Black and white passengers. What began as a private initiative by a railway company soon became law in multiple states. In 1892, Homer Plessy, who was one-eighth Black but light-skinned, challenged the system by sitting in a white car. He was arrested for refusing to move, and the courts upheld “separate but equal” as constitutional. This landmark case reinforced segregation in public life for decades. — National Archives.
As trains and streetcars expanded, so did segregated public spaces. Cafes, benches, beaches, theaters, parks, and even parking areas were designated for whites. Cinemas frequently had separate entrances and seating arrangements. The gallery became a notorious symbol for Black spectators. Signs and architectural divisions extended to less obvious places, including restrooms and water fountains, as segregation laws shaped daily life.
Justifications often invoked protection of white women from assault, employing deeply biased stereotypes about Black people to rationalize restrictions. The resulting social climate perpetuated harmful myths and reinforced racial hierarchy across public life.
Schooling
Segregation in education was especially stark in the South. Separate Black schools appeared before the Civil War and persisted after emancipation. When public schooling began in 1867, it was overwhelmingly segregated. Students were told that Black and white schools were equal in name, but the resources, budgets, and outcomes were not. Many Black families welcomed education as a path to opportunity, even as they faced separate and unequal schooling.
Advocates of segregation sometimes framed their stance as protection against supposed dangers, claiming Black students needed separate facilities to avoid intimidation or inferior outcomes. The landscape began to shift in the mid-20th century with the rise of the civil rights movement, as Black communities asserted equal rights and dignity.
The Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 ruled that racial segregation in public schools violated the 14th Amendment. In 1957, nine Black students with solid grades enrolled in a public high school in Little Rock, Arkansas, facing hostility and violence. The incident drew national attention and highlighted the need for federal protection of Black students seeking equal education. Images of soldiers escorting students became enduring symbols of the struggle for integration.
In the following years, federal leadership helped advance desegregation. President Lyndon Johnson issued executive action and supported the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned racial discrimination in voting, transportation, schools, cafés, theaters, and employment. While challenges remained in various communities, these steps marked a decisive turn toward legal equality and broader civil rights protections. — National Archives.