Desegregation within a Nation
BatesBD
English 112
Ms. Day
17 October 2013
Desegregation within a Nation During the early 1960’s African Americans faced hardships so that maybe one day they could be considered equal. They were banished, shunned and even killed by the white race in the South. During non-violent protests they were treated like animals and were ridiculed by people who were against them having equal rights. In the novel “The Help”, written by Kathryn Stockett, she goes in depth of what it was like during this era for African Americans. She ties in fictional things and events to give you a feel of what it may have been like for people back then through her characters. There were laws in the South during the Civil Rights Movement called Jim Crow laws. These laws were created in the 1880’s and the name of the laws are believed to come from a character in a popular minstrel song. The laws were to segregate the African American race from using the same bathroom facilities, railways, streetcars, public waiting rooms and restaurants. They couldn’t even enter theaters, public parks, schools, hospitals, and other public institutions that were only designated for whites ("Jim Crow Laws"). Kathryn Stockett’s character Skeeter is at an all-white’s library looking for books for Aibileen as she spots a book on the top shelf. “The booklet is thin, printed on onionskin paper, curling, bound with staples. “Compilation of Jim Crow Laws of the South” the cover reads (Stockett pg.202). She even put the Jim Crow laws to add a more realistic vibe to her novel.
Some African Americans faced harsh punishments for protesting or having anything to do with the civil rights movement. Some were arrested and others faced brutality or even death in some cases. In the summer of 1963 a black man named Medgar Evers, who was a Field Secretary for the NAACP1, was shot and killed. The culprit was a member of the KKK2, a white male by the name of Byron De La Beckwith (Riffel). Kathryn Stockett adds this true
English 112
Ms. Day
17 October 2013
Desegregation within a Nation During the early 1960’s African Americans faced hardships so that maybe one day they could be considered equal. They were banished, shunned and even killed by the white race in the South. During non-violent protests they were treated like animals and were ridiculed by people who were against them having equal rights. In the novel “The Help”, written by Kathryn Stockett, she goes in depth of what it was like during this era for African Americans. She ties in fictional things and events to give you a feel of what it may have been like for people back then through her characters. There were laws in the South during the Civil Rights Movement called Jim Crow laws. These laws were created in the 1880’s and the name of the laws are believed to come from a character in a popular minstrel song. The laws were to segregate the African American race from using the same bathroom facilities, railways, streetcars, public waiting rooms and restaurants. They couldn’t even enter theaters, public parks, schools, hospitals, and other public institutions that were only designated for whites ("Jim Crow Laws"). Kathryn Stockett’s character Skeeter is at an all-white’s library looking for books for Aibileen as she spots a book on the top shelf. “The booklet is thin, printed on onionskin paper, curling, bound with staples. “Compilation of Jim Crow Laws of the South” the cover reads (Stockett pg.202). She even put the Jim Crow laws to add a more realistic vibe to her novel.
Some African Americans faced harsh punishments for protesting or having anything to do with the civil rights movement. Some were arrested and others faced brutality or even death in some cases. In the summer of 1963 a black man named Medgar Evers, who was a Field Secretary for the NAACP1, was shot and killed. The culprit was a member of the KKK2, a white male by the name of Byron De La Beckwith (Riffel). Kathryn Stockett adds this true
Cited: "Jim Crow Laws.": Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6Th Edition (2013) 1. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. Riffel, Brent. "Medgar Evers: Mississippi Martyr." Arkansas Review: A Journal Of Delta Studies 43.3 (2012): 205-206. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. Shah, Aarushi H. "All Of Africa Will Be Free Before We Can Get A Lousy Cup Of Coffee: The Impact Of The 1943 Lunch Counter Sit-Ins On The Civil Rights Movement." History Teacher 46.1 (2012): 127-147. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. Stockett, Kathryn. The Help. New York. Penguin, 2011. Paperback. WARE, LELAND. "Civil Rights And The 1960S: A Decade Of Unparalleled Progress." Maryland Law Review 72.4 (2013): 1087-1095. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. Wikipedia contributors. "African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–68)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 3 Nov. 2013. Web. 4 Nov. 2013.