Understanding Jim Crow: Using Racist Memorabilia to Teach Tolerance and Promote Social Justice

For many people in modern America, it is difficult to understand what it was like to be an African American living under Jim Crow segregation in the U.S.. Most young Americans have little or no knowledge about the restrictive covenants, literacy tests, poll taxes, lynchings, and other incredibly oppressive features of the Jim Crow racial hierarchy. Even those who have some familiarity with the period may initially view racist segregation and injustices as mere relics of a distant, shameful past. But a real understanding of race relations in this country must include a solid knowledge of Jim Crow—how it emerged, what it was like, how it ended, and its impact on today's culture.