Field Trip to Maycomb Supplemental Notes

13 th Amendment Passed in 1865 Outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude (except as punishment for a convicted crime)

14 th Amendment Passed in 1868 “all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens of the United States” States cannot deny citizenship, equal protection or life, liberty or property to anyone (without the due process of law)

Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court ruling decided in 1896 Began in Louisiana in 1892 when Homer Plessy, a biracial man (1/8 African American), refused to leave a “whites only” train car Court ruled in favor of segregation, saying that it was constitutional for states to make laws based on prejudice “God almighty drew the color line and it cannot be obliterated”

Jim Crow Laws Laws passed in southern states beginning in 1877 through the 1960s Laws that legalized segregation and failed to protect the civil rights of African Americans Justified by the “separate but equal” doctrine, but ultimately ruled unconstitutional

Separate, but equal? JimCrowSegregated.jpg

Brown v. The Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas Supreme Court ruling decided in 1954 Linda Brown denied access to a school closer to her home because of her race Racial segregation in public schools deemed UNCONSTITUTIONAL because segregation violates the 14 th Amendment “Doll Tests” used as evidence (African- American children attending segregated schools had negative self-perception)

Lynching WHAT IS IT? A form of mob violence Murder by hanging, shooting, and/or extreme torture: burning at the stake, mutilation, dismemberment, castration A means of social control through fear

Lynching WHO WERE THE VICTIMS? People accused of—but not necessarily guilty of—crimes or “insults” Murdered and tortured without having been convicted, without due process under the law Mostly African-American men (though women and whites were also victims) On the average, a black man, woman or child was murdered once a week, every week, between 1882 and 1930 by a hate-driven white mob

Lynching WHO WERE THE PERPETRATORS? The only states where lynching has NOT occurred: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont Most prevalent in: Mississippi, Georgia, Texas, Louisiana, Alabama Considered a form of amusement Committed mostly in smaller towns and rural communities by people who were undereducated and economically disadvantaged

Have you ever … Acted suspiciously? Argued with a white man? Frightened a white woman? Demanded respect? Been seen as unpopular? Tried to vote? Used obscene language? Spread disease? Been obnoxious? Peeped in a window?

What do all the behaviors on the previous slide have in common? They were all reasons given for lynching a person Without Sanctuary

Poverty Rates,

Incarceration Rates Rate per 100,000 (2005)

Youth Dropout Rates, 2005 In 2005, Hispanics accounted for 41% of all current high school dropouts, but only made up 17% of the total youth population