Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
The sign pictured above would have been commonly seen throughout America,
especially in the South. Southern Democrats called for the end of Reconstruction with
Rutherford B. Hayes election. Subsequently, when Hayes entered office, he pulled out the
remaining federal troops from the South. This was known as the Compromise of 1877. This
compromise ended a decade of Radical Republican control in the southern states. Because Hayes
removed the remaining troops, people in the South stopped enforcing the federal civil rights
laws. This meant the Ku Klux Klan began to terrorize Blacks and their supports again.
Years after the Democrats regained control of the South, segregation and
disenfranchisement laws were implemented throughout the region. These laws were nicknamed
as Jim Crow. These laws represented a formal, codified system of racial apartheid that
dominated the American South for three quarters of a century beginning in the 1890s(Jim
Crow Laws). Jim Crow laws affected the daily lives of Americans greatly. Schools, restrooms,
buses, parks, restaurants, and more were segregated. These facilities were known to be separate
Bell & McFalls
but equal. Many places would have Whites Only and Colored signs like the one pictured
This sign would have been used to direct people of color and whites to the restroom
they were to use. Although facilities like public restrooms were supposed to be separate but
equal, many of the times these places were far from equal. The conditions of the facilities and
services were far lower for colored people than they were for whites.
This artifact is historically significant, because it reminds us of the time when we let one
race control how others lived. It is important not to forget the mistakes of our past, and how we
came to learn from them. This idea can be implemented in the classroom by showing students
how something as simple as a sign could impact how others act or feel. This would be a great
opportunity to have students write in a journal about how segregation signs would make them
Works Cited
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/freedom-riders-jim-crow-laws/
african-history-racist.jpg