Ed Web

The History of Jim Crow

Winter 2002/2003

By Stan Karp

A recent TV series called "The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow" has generated an impressive website that "presents teachers with new historical resources and teaching ideas on one of the most shameful periods in American history, an era of segregation, violence, and disfranchisement of African Americans that tore at the very fabric of the nation."

The four-part documentary series, shown on PBS stations in October, is itself a valuable resource. (The complete series can be ordered for $79.95 plus shipping. Call 1-800-336-1917) Even viewers familiar with the history and with other landmark documentaries like "Eyes on the Prize," will find much to learn from and utilize in the classroom.

But whether you've seen the video version or not, the website stands on its own as an educational resource. The jimcrowhistory.org site is linked to the "official companion" site of the PBS series (www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow). But jimcrowhistory.org is itself a separate site and has the more comprehensive package of resources. A narrative section personalizes the history of racial segregation with first-hand accounts of life under the American system of white supremacy. An image gallery offers a visual history of racist images reflecting Jim Crow culture as well as scenes of Black life and resistance.

A geography section offers interactive, pop-up maps. Click on a state and you'll find a summary of Jim Crow laws and history in that locale, from an 1873 Kentucky statue that declared: "No colored school shall be located within one mile of a white school, except in cities and towns, where it may not be within six hundred feet," to a Florida law that decreed segregated beaches as recently as 1967. The geography section includes similar maps with themes like "Women and Jim Crow," "Sports and Jim Crow," and "Heroes of Jim Crow."

Both the TV series and the website have strong sections on the history of resistance to segregation and white supremacy. These sections pull no punches in describing "domestic terrorism" (lynchings, mob violence, Klan activity) needed to enforce the ideological and cultural assumptions of segregation. But the extensive accounts of resistance also offer hope in the form of courageous activism and successful organizing by people from all walks of life.

There are also extensive teacher resources and lesson plans for each part of the project. One simulation asks students to put themselves in the positions of various historical figures and identify accurately the particular choices they made. Another series of pages traces the legal history that led to the 1954 Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation in schools. Another tries to walk students through an analysis of visual images reflecting the complex history of Jim Crow.

Some of these activities work better than others, but teachers at all levels will find a lot of helpful material. In a nod to current school realities, the site even offers relevant "curriculum standards" that can be referenced when needed. The site has continued to grow since the series was broadcast. Literature units have been added, such as Toni Morrison's Beloved, Alice Walker's The Color Purple, Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, and Mildred Taylor's Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. A unit on To Kill a Mockingbird attempts to expand the context of this oft-taught novel by linking it to the history of the infamous Scottsboro Boys trial.

The site invites teachers to contribute their own teaching ideas and even offers to pay contributors for work used. (See "Join Us.")

Finally a "Jim Crow Gateway" section invites users to explore teacher- and student-evaluated websites on a variety of topics pertaining to Jim Crow history and literature. Brief annotations, written by contributing students and educators from various parts of the country, direct users to African-American newspapers, historical archives, current civil rights organizations, even relevant educational resources from the National Park Service.

The site is an example of the web used well for educational purposes. It can help teachers and students understand more fully the history of racial oppression and the struggle for racial justice that continues to this day.

Stan Karp (StanKarp@aol.com) teaches high school English and journalism in Paterson N.J. and is a Rethinking Schools editor.

Winter 2002/2003