A Lesson On Racism

It seems like forever that I've heard the term 'Jim Crow', or 'Jim Crow Laws'.  It is almost always used (these days) to describe Republicans and/or Conservatives, and is meant as a demeaning attack - essentially calling Republicans racist.

I honestly didn't know who Jim Crow was until recently.  When I heard a sound bite of a black, Democrat Congressman  ranting about how Republicans wanted to return us to the days of 'Jim Crow', my curiosity got to me.

It's easy to find out - a Google search, or Wikipedia, and its right there.  There was no person named 'Jim Crow'.  Jim Crow wasn't some racist Republican Senator or Congressman who passed despicable laws meant to keep the black man down.

The term 'Jim Crow' was originated to describe the song and dance caricature of black folk by a white actor, Thomas D. Rice, who performed mockery of President Andrew Jackson's policies during the 1830s.  Don't ask me why, but that's what the history books say.

'Jim Crow' morphed over the years to generally refer to any law passed that led to or enforced segregation policies. It was a particularly popular phrase during Reconstruction (1865-1877, a period some historians refer to as the Second Civil War).  It was during the 1870s when Southern Democrats, thrown from power immediately after their defeat in the Civil War, regained power in every Southern state - either by lawful voting, voter intimidation, fraud, or violence.  Southern Democrats formed the KKK during the early 1870s, where it functioned as the paramilitary arm of the Democrat Party, and openly fought Federal troops and murdered thousands of blacks and Republican whites.  It was also popular in the early 1900s, to describe the efforts of President Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, to pass far reaching segregation enforcement laws.

'Jim Crow' is thrown around a lot these days.  I will bet that almost every one who uses it has no idea where it comes from.  I heard a national TV interview with a black Democrat Congresswoman about a year ago, where she wondered aloud who was going to be the Republican's next Jim Crow - clearly she believed that Mr. Crow was some hateful, racist Republican from past years.

The term describes something that is disgusting.  I wish that those who were using it would take the time to learn where it came from, who was responsible for its origin, and who was responsible for the heinous laws and policies it is used to describe during our country's history (DEMOCRATS).


The period of Reconstruction, the 12 years after the Civil War, was anything but reconstructive.  It was a time of massive violence - essentially the Southern Democrat Party and its army, the KKK, continued the Civil War.  There were thousands of people killed, with pitched battles between Federal troops and the KKK - it really was a continuation of the war.  It is a fascinating period of our country's history, one that is sorely ignored in the history books and classes.  No wonder - do you think liberal academia is going to teach our young about the horrific origins of their precious Democrat Party?