The Pros And Cons Of Jim Crow Laws

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”, with these two lines within the Declaration of Independence, America was born as a country of equality for all. However, America today, is a country ridden with disparity and inequality, resulting in glaring divisions amongst the American people. Today, the top 1% owns nearly half of America’s wealth, leaving the remaining 99% with only 50% of America’s wealth. Furthermore, according to the U.S Census, 27% of Black or African American households are living below poverty, while only 10% of White households are living below poverty today.
Beginning in 1919, a new movement began to gain ground in America, the Civil Rights Movement, the Civil Rights Movement was a protest against the blatantly prejudiced laws of the country. Amongst these laws were the infamous Jim Crow laws, these laws institutionalized various economic, social, and educational disadvantages for African American through enforcing segregation in the South. The tension created by these laws snowballed with the aid of people like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. and ultimately, resulted in the eradication of the Jim Crow laws. However, discrimination and wealth disparity remained to be an eminent problem in America despite the abolishment of the segregation laws in the South. In fact, according to the Urban Institute in 1963 the average wealth of White households was $136,221 while the average wealth of Black households was a mere $18,892. Today, that same disparity has grown to unimaginable heights and the many of the same racial tensions remain. If slavery and the segregation laws were all abolished why are racial divisions still so prominent in America today?