Jim Crow was not just a system of discrimination and segregation based on race; it was a legal system, backed by the United States Supreme Court in cases such as Plessy v. Ferguson and sustained by thousands of local states and ordinances. This unit examines the changing legal status of African Americans, the political violence that accompanied that change, and the legal challenge to Jim Crow undertaken by the NAACP and the individuals covered in the documentary series.
Three class periods
African American History, Civil Rights
Students will be able to:
- Understand Jim Crow as a political and legal system.
- Explain the strategies the NAACP and other activists used to challenge Jim Crow in the courts.
Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning
United States History Standard and Benchmarks
This lesson was prepared by: Thomas Thurston