Signs like 'No dogs, no Negros, no Mexicans' once hung across the American South, stark reminders of racial segregation. These signs, including 'Colored served in rear' and 'For whites only,' were the most visible daily reminders of the subordinate status of Black people living alongside but separate from white individuals.
The Jim Crow System
After the Civil War and the collapse of Reconstruction, the Jim Crow system of public etiquette and laws regulated the movement of both Black and white people for generations. This system was undergirded by beliefs that formerly enslaved Black people and their descendants were inferior in intelligence, morality, and behavior. Supporters feared that racial equality would encourage interracial relations and destroy the nation's racial purity.
From Cultural Acceptance to Legal Segregation
Spatial segregation was initially culturally accepted, then enforced violently or through threat of re-enslavement via incarceration. After the 1896 Supreme Court decision Plessy v. Ferguson established the 'separate but equal' doctrine, Jim Crow segregation signs became statutory rather than just warnings. Ritualized humiliation became constitutional subjugation.
Railway cars, buses, water fountains, restrooms, hotels, lunch counters, and swimming pools were among the public facilities segregated by signage. Black people were forced to use substandard facilities. Schools, churches, and cemeteries had long been racially divided. This system kept Black men away from white women and stripped Black people of their dignity, sense of citizenship, and social and political belonging.
End of Legalized Segregation
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 ended legalized racial separatism, although many in the American South resisted desegregation after signs were removed and placed in museums. Steven Reich, a history professor and author of an encyclopedia on the Jim Crow era, notes that one lasting impact of legalized segregation remains evident in the modern American workforce.
Segregation divided the working class and compelled white workers to identify more with their employers than with their Black co-workers. This continues to stifle opportunities for Black and white workers to organize and work together on common issues, including diversity and inclusion.
Aaron Morrison is the race and ethnicity news editor at AP. This story is part of the series 'American Objects,' marking the 250th anniversary of the United States.
