How was racial segregation established in the American south?
In the American south starting around the 1870’s things were beginning to get better and worse at the same time for African Americans. Little by little black people began to be able to do more things like ever before, like voting for the presidency. Some of them were allowed to work for wages and also own their own land in some cases. Things were beginning to brighten up for black people all over the country, until white people began to disapprove of the new rights for African Americans. White people believed they were the top race in the world and could not be competing with the African race. This is how segregation was established and began to take power in the American south.
Segregation first took a hold in public schools because white people did not want their children competing with black children in the same class room. Schools all around the country began to separate the two races in different class rooms. In some cases, black student were not allowed to go to certain schools. They were forced to go to very low budgeted schools as bad as horse stables. States like Louisiana spent very little on black school systems, which made it the state with the most illiterate people. Black people tried to fight this discrimination by declaring that is was a violation to the Fifteenth Amendment, which specifies that we should all be treated equal. White people fought back by saying that as long as blacks were allowed to get an education, it was equal treatment to white people. The explained that the amendment did not say anything about having to be in the same class room, only as long as they received equal treatment. African Americans had no choice but to abide by the white mans rules and suffer the consequences.
Segregation not only reached all schools, but also anything that was public like restaurants, restrooms, transportation, and entertainment. Everything was separated to keep both races from interacting with each other in any way possible. The only way a black person could be in the same place as a white person would be to go as a servant or a worker. Black men were also not allowed to speak to white women because it was seen as improper. White men were scared that black men and white women would have relations. Segregation began to be the white mans way of keeping slavery alive. Even though African Americans were allowed to vote according to the law, the white man found a way around it in order to take that right away from them. They created difficult literacy tests that were almost impossible for the black man to pass. Since everyone including white people took the test, it was considered fair and equal in the eyes of the government. The lack of good education for black people took away any chance of them having their voice heard in the presidential election. Less then ten percent of the black population were able to pass the difficult tests
