Young historians envision what life was like for African Americans living in the Jim Crow South through hands-on, experiential activities. 

Explains how Jim Crow laws came to be created in the South and what it meant for African Americans. Discusses the Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case, how its decision was eventually overturned, and the events that brought an end to...

Looks at how Southerners continued to discriminate against blacks after the Civil War through Black Codes, or Jim Crow laws, which permitted practices such as segregation in public places and requiring literacy tests in order to vote.

Read about how "the Populists challenged white supremacy by forming coalitions between black and white farmers who shared a common cause." Part of a larger website called "Jim Crow Stories", this brief article paints the Populist Party...

In 1891, the Texas Legislature passed the Jim Crow law, which "required separate railroad coaches for African Americans." Learn why this was passed and given the name "Jim Crow."

A biography of the inspirational Ida B. Wells, who, as a journalist, railed against violence against African-Americans in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Part of an online exhibit called "Forever Free," this section deals with African Americans' efforts to establish themselves in society, despite increases in racism. Addresses topics such as Black Codes, Jim Crow Laws, and voting rights.

Discusses the Compromise of 1877 which gave the presidency to Rutherford B. Hayes and signaled the end of Reconstruction in the South. As a result of this act, federal troops withdrew from the South, and Jim Crow laws were passed by...

Explains how the Compromise of 1877 settled the contested 1876 presidential election, declaring Rutherford B. Hayes the winner while agreeing to withdraw federal troops from the South. This paved the way for the South to enact Jim Crow...

A brief description of the Supreme Court decision, Plessy v Ferguson, in 1896, that solidified the separate but equal rule. Included is the title page of the Supreme Court text of the decision.

Perhaps one of the largest ethinc/cultural group to inhabit Arkansas are the African Americans. Follow their first arrival as slaves working the plantations through all the years toward emancipation, and into present times. Highly...

Encyclopedia entry about the prosecution, in Scottsboro, Alabama, of nine young African Americans charged with the rape of two white women. The trials focused the nation's attention on the racist forces at work in Jim Crow south in 1930s...

This exhibit explores the methods used by Africans and their American-born descendants to resist enslavement, as well as to demand emancipation and full participation in American society. Strategies varied, but the goal remained...

Provides an overview and basic introduction to the civil rights movement of African Americans.

Read about the tragic case of Emmett Till, an African American teenager who was viciously murdered in 1955. The case forced the public to see the brutality of the racism that was rampant in the South and it fueled the civil rights movement.

The end of Reconstruction brought about the end of military occupation in the South, but ushered in discriminatory practices against the newly freed black population. Read about why that happened and the future consequences.

This Grolier On-line Encyclopedia article hits the main points of the Progressive Era stretching from the 1890s until just after the end of World War I.

This is a detailed explanation as to what the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was, how it came about, and how it affected American society. Includes a photograph of President Lyndon Johnson signing the Civil Rights Act into law.

Read about the all-black towns that were settled in Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory in the mid-19th century.

Very thorough article on the history of affirmative action. Bibliography is included.

Discusses the Black Codes that white Southerners imposed on African Americans after the Civil War and the efforts by Republican politicians to protect their rights.

Provides a discussion of what life was like for African Americans after slavery ended, focusing on the Freedman's Bureau, Freedman schools, and the Ku Klux Klan.

Read about the action of Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, triggering a massive bus boycott led by Martin Luther King, Jr. The boycott became the impetus for a Supreme Court ruling that...

A description of the Oklahoma Territory and its rapid growth in the late 19th century.