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.

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.

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.

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

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

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...

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

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.