0:00:01.377,0:00:04.627 (dramatic blues music) 0:00:17.910,0:00:21.940 - [Man] Major funding for[br]The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow 0:00:21.940,0:00:26.250 is provided by the National[br]Endowment for the Humanities, 0:00:26.250,0:00:31.250 expanding America's understanding[br]for more that 30 years 0:00:31.320,0:00:36.233 of who we were, who we[br]are, and who we will be. 0:00:38.856,0:00:42.960 And by support from the Corporation[br]for Public Broadcasting, 0:00:42.960,0:00:47.123 a private corporation funded[br]by the American people. 0:00:50.820,0:00:54.390 Additional funding is[br]provided by the John D. 0:00:54.390,0:00:56.943 and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. 0:01:00.610,0:01:04.030 Corporate support is made[br]possible by New York Life. 0:01:04.030,0:01:06.360 - [Woman] With vision and determination, 0:01:06.360,0:01:09.580 one generation dreamed of[br]creating a better world 0:01:09.580,0:01:10.540 for the next. 0:01:10.540,0:01:14.250 New York Life is proud to[br]bring you remarkable stories 0:01:14.250,0:01:17.093 of dedication, struggle, and triumph. 0:01:18.227,0:01:21.644 (grand orchestral music) 0:01:24.797,0:01:26.673 ♪ Come listen all you gals and boy ♪ 0:01:26.673,0:01:28.480 ♪ I'm just from Tuckahoe ♪ 0:01:28.480,0:01:30.109 ♪ I'm going to sing a little song ♪ 0:01:30.109,0:01:31.592 ♪ My name's Jim Crow ♪ 0:01:31.592,0:01:35.535 ♪ Wheel about and turn[br]about and do just so ♪ 0:01:35.535,0:01:38.831 ♪ Every time I wheel[br]about, I jump Jim Crow ♪ 0:01:38.831,0:01:39.780 ♪ I went down to the river ♪ 0:01:39.780,0:01:42.833 - [Narrator] In 1836, Jim Crow was born. 0:01:43.790,0:01:45.883 He begins his strange[br]career as a malicious 0:01:45.883,0:01:48.870 minstrel caricature of a black man, 0:01:48.870,0:01:52.403 created by a white man[br]to amuse white audiences. 0:01:53.324,0:01:56.110 (laughing)[br](applause) 0:01:56.110,0:01:59.250 Jim Crow would come to[br]symbolize one of the most 0:01:59.250,0:02:03.090 tragic eras of race relations[br]in American history. 0:02:03.090,0:02:06.983 A time deeply rooted in[br]promise and contradiction. 0:02:08.487,0:02:13.487 1865, four million Americans,[br]slaves simply because they 0:02:13.780,0:02:16.263 were born black, were now free. 0:02:17.800,0:02:20.050 But in little over a decade, 0:02:20.050,0:02:22.340 that promise was gone. 0:02:22.340,0:02:25.300 Replaced by a rigid system[br]of laws designed to keep 0:02:25.300,0:02:27.150 blacks from experiencing any of their 0:02:27.150,0:02:28.623 newly achieved rights. 0:02:29.570,0:02:33.480 It would be known as the era of Jim Crow, 0:02:33.480,0:02:35.863 the American form of racial apartheid. 0:02:37.440,0:02:40.083 - I tried to lean inside[br]and get me a cup of water. 0:02:42.207,0:02:46.533 And those white people beat[br]me until I was unconscious. 0:02:47.800,0:02:49.200 They thought I was dead. 0:02:50.080,0:02:52.947 - My dad said, "As long as you are living 0:02:52.947,0:02:56.158 "in this South, you're going to have to go 0:02:56.158,0:02:58.540 "through the back door, in this South. 0:02:58.540,0:03:00.090 "And you just settle for that." 0:03:01.050,0:03:03.457 He said, "Well one thing[br]I want you to swear 0:03:03.457,0:03:07.438 "and promise to me, is that you will never 0:03:07.438,0:03:08.288 "get used to it." 0:03:10.240,0:03:15.240 - I'm not ashamed of the[br]segregated and Jim Crow experience. 0:03:15.310,0:03:20.310 All because, we were[br]able to devise techniques 0:03:21.510,0:03:22.440 for survival 0:03:24.290,0:03:28.270 that permitted us to bide our time 0:03:28.270,0:03:31.253 and to wait until our change comes. 0:03:32.540,0:03:33.680 - [Narrator] As most blacks were willing 0:03:33.680,0:03:37.740 to bide their time, some[br]began to fight back. 0:03:37.740,0:03:41.260 In the last 1880s and[br]90s, they embarked on an 0:03:41.260,0:03:44.600 uncertain campaign to[br]secure voting rights, 0:03:44.600,0:03:47.550 build their own communities,[br]schools, businesses, 0:03:47.550,0:03:50.630 and churches, and to[br]demand redress against 0:03:50.630,0:03:52.163 mob violence and lynching. 0:03:54.100,0:03:56.470 The white supremacists fought back. 0:03:56.470,0:03:59.560 By 1919, the Ku Klux Klan, which had been 0:03:59.560,0:04:03.203 a southern idiosyncrasy,[br]became a national ideology. 0:04:04.350,0:04:07.420 White supremacy, the[br]power behind Jim Crow, 0:04:07.420,0:04:08.763 appeared invincible. 0:04:10.010,0:04:12.620 And over the next decade,[br]the violence against blacks 0:04:12.620,0:04:14.203 would grow even more horrific. 0:04:16.399,0:04:18.959 But black Americans continued to battle, 0:04:18.959,0:04:21.850 using the power of the[br]press, and ultimately 0:04:21.850,0:04:24.670 the power of the courts[br]to pursue their quest 0:04:24.670,0:04:27.700 for freedom and equality against racism. 0:04:27.700,0:04:31.070 The rise and fall of[br]Jim Crow is their story. 0:04:31.070,0:04:33.780 The story of strong men[br]and women who would never 0:04:33.780,0:04:36.890 accept the demeaning,[br]threatening, and perilous world 0:04:36.890,0:04:38.380 of Jim Crow. 0:04:38.380,0:04:42.570 The rise and fall of Jim[br]Crow is a story of those who, 0:04:42.570,0:04:47.450 in the face of unending[br]terror, achieved triumphs. 0:04:47.450,0:04:50.960 Triumphs that would in time[br]make America a better place. 0:04:50.960,0:04:54.053 Not just for themselves,[br]but for all of us. 0:04:58.925,0:05:03.374 (gun fire)[br](dramatic music) 0:05:03.374,0:05:05.120 Conflict over black emancipation is as 0:05:05.120,0:05:06.213 old as the nation. 0:05:07.543,0:05:10.690 In 1861, the south left the Union 0:05:10.690,0:05:12.990 rather than remain part of[br]a country that restricted 0:05:12.990,0:05:14.403 the expansion of slavery. 0:05:15.330,0:05:18.270 At first, Abraham Lincoln saw the struggle 0:05:18.270,0:05:21.140 as simply a war to save the nation, 0:05:21.140,0:05:24.480 but in time, he would recast the Civil War 0:05:24.480,0:05:26.680 as a war to end slavery. 0:05:26.680,0:05:31.680 On January 1, 1863, he issued[br]the Emancipation Proclamation 0:05:32.470,0:05:35.880 freeing all slaves in[br]the Confederate states. 0:05:35.880,0:05:38.580 Six months after the south surrendered, 0:05:38.580,0:05:40.810 Congress ratified the 13th Amendment, 0:05:40.810,0:05:42.043 abolishing slavery. 0:05:43.060,0:05:44.830 The federal government had made a promise 0:05:44.830,0:05:46.410 to the former slaves. 0:05:46.410,0:05:50.000 These newly freed men and women,[br]who knew what they wanted, 0:05:50.000,0:05:52.940 education, and a right to vote, 0:05:52.940,0:05:56.573 equal rights in the[br]courts, and mostly, land. 0:05:57.500,0:05:59.220 - What is it that your people need 0:05:59.220,0:06:01.100 now that you're free? 0:06:01.100,0:06:03.460 Our people need land. 0:06:03.460,0:06:06.150 And they need tools to work the land. 0:06:06.150,0:06:09.950 So there we began to[br]see the priority to own 0:06:10.890,0:06:12.133 our own land. 0:06:13.017,0:06:16.247 - [Man] "Every colored[br]man would be a slave 0:06:16.247,0:06:19.377 "and feel himself a[br]slave, until he can raise 0:06:19.377,0:06:23.247 "his own bale of cotton and put his own 0:06:23.247,0:06:27.727 "mark upon it and says, 'This is mine.' 0:06:28.577,0:06:31.677 "With our independence,[br]and self employment, 0:06:31.677,0:06:34.870 "freedom would be meaningless." 0:06:34.870,0:06:35.803 Peter Hall. 0:06:36.710,0:06:38.450 - [Narrator] On Edisto[br]Island, off the coast 0:06:38.450,0:06:41.460 of South Carolina,[br]thousands of newly freed 0:06:41.460,0:06:44.370 blacks were making that dream come true 0:06:44.370,0:06:46.580 on land abandoned by their former masters, 0:06:46.580,0:06:49.040 and given to them by the Union army. 0:06:49.040,0:06:51.410 They had built schools and churches. 0:06:51.410,0:06:54.383 Established family, and community life. 0:06:55.440,0:06:58.680 But they had heard rumors[br]that their future was at risk. 0:06:58.680,0:07:01.120 Lincoln had been assassinated[br]and a southerner, 0:07:01.120,0:07:03.600 Andrew Johnson, was president. 0:07:03.600,0:07:05.610 Johnson fought to save the Union, 0:07:05.610,0:07:07.417 but not to free slaves. 0:07:07.417,0:07:10.627 "This is a country for[br]white men," he said. 0:07:10.627,0:07:12.727 "And as long as I'm president, it will be 0:07:12.727,0:07:14.387 "a government for white men." 0:07:16.637,0:07:20.526 ♪ Sometimes ♪ 0:07:20.526,0:07:24.904 ♪ I feel ♪ 0:07:24.904,0:07:29.904 ♪ Like a motherless ♪ 0:07:29.942,0:07:31.942 ♪ Child ♪ 0:07:34.050,0:07:38.960 On October 19, 1865, a[br]board carrying a deeply 0:07:38.960,0:07:42.300 troubled Union general, Oliver O. Howard, 0:07:42.300,0:07:44.363 slowly made its way toward Edisto. 0:07:45.690,0:07:48.360 Howard was know as the Christian general. 0:07:48.360,0:07:51.140 A deeply religious man who hated slavery. 0:07:51.140,0:07:53.720 He was in charge of the[br]new Freedman's Bureau, 0:07:53.720,0:07:55.760 established by Congress that year, 0:07:55.760,0:07:57.790 to protect the confiscated lands given 0:07:57.790,0:07:59.610 to the former slaves. 0:07:59.610,0:08:01.730 Howard was revered second only to Lincoln 0:08:01.730,0:08:02.773 by freed blacks. 0:08:04.000,0:08:07.020 - They got the message from[br]the Freedman's Bureau that 0:08:07.020,0:08:10.870 the general was coming back,[br]General Olive O. Howard, 0:08:10.870,0:08:13.990 who, they were expecting to[br]hear nothing but good news 0:08:13.990,0:08:16.680 from him because was the[br]man who had told them 0:08:16.680,0:08:19.960 about how this land, now,[br]was transferred to them 0:08:19.960,0:08:21.850 and that they owned it[br]and that they didn't 0:08:21.850,0:08:25.230 have to worry about "massa"[br]no more and everything. 0:08:25.230,0:08:28.130 He asked them to gather[br]together at their church 0:08:28.130,0:08:29.220 on Edisto. 0:08:29.220,0:08:34.220 So over 2,000 people came[br]from all amongst the oak trees 0:08:34.520,0:08:37.817 and all back off in the[br]woods and from their shacks 0:08:37.817,0:08:40.770 and their dirt roads to[br]meet there at the church 0:08:40.770,0:08:44.573 to hear this new discussion[br]about their land. 0:08:45.437,0:08:47.487 - [Man] "I have been sent[br]by the president to tell you 0:08:47.487,0:08:49.860 "that your old masters have been pardoned 0:08:51.007,0:08:53.793 "and their plantations are[br]to be given back to them. 0:08:55.084,0:08:57.384 "That they would hire[br]blacks to work for them. 0:08:58.697,0:09:02.930 "Lay aside your bitter feelings,[br]and be reconciled to them." 0:09:02.930,0:09:05.090 General Oliver O. Howard. 0:09:05.090,0:09:07.537 - So people were enraged and[br]people started hollering out, 0:09:07.537,0:09:09.187 "No, no, it aint no way. 0:09:09.187,0:09:11.479 "No, no, that aint what[br]you tell us before. 0:09:11.479,0:09:13.317 "No, sir, no, sir." 0:09:13.317,0:09:14.637 - [Man] "General Howard? 0:09:14.637,0:09:17.087 "Why'd he take away our lands? 0:09:17.087,0:09:19.787 "You take them from us who are true, 0:09:19.787,0:09:21.637 "always true to the government. 0:09:21.637,0:09:24.717 "You give them to our all time enemies. 0:09:24.717,0:09:27.437 "The man who gave me 39 lashes 0:09:27.437,0:09:30.973 "and who stripped and[br]flogged my mother and sister. 0:09:32.140,0:09:33.747 "Who keeps land from me well knowing 0:09:33.747,0:09:35.967 "I would not have anything to do with him 0:09:35.967,0:09:38.007 "if I had land of my own. 0:09:38.007,0:09:41.630 "That man I cannot well forgive." 0:09:41.630,0:09:43.180 A Freedman. 0:09:43.180,0:09:44.130 - Some went into 0:09:45.167,0:09:47.467 ♪ Nobody know ♪ 0:09:47.467,0:09:49.980 ♪ The trouble we see ♪ 0:09:49.980,0:09:52.000 And some went into "Motherless Child," 0:09:52.000,0:09:55.490 and all those things rippled off the sea. 0:09:55.490,0:09:58.323 ♪ Feel ♪ 0:09:58.323,0:10:01.823 ♪ Like a motherless child ♪ 0:10:09.011,0:10:14.011 ♪ A long way ♪ 0:10:16.190,0:10:18.523 ♪ From home ♪ 0:10:25.583,0:10:26.850 - [Narrator] One year later in 1866, 0:10:26.850,0:10:30.400 Congress, recognizing[br]continued southern resistance 0:10:30.400,0:10:35.320 to black emancipation, passed[br]the 14th and 15th amendments, 0:10:35.320,0:10:37.520 guaranteeing blacks the right to vote 0:10:37.520,0:10:39.820 in due process of law. 0:10:39.820,0:10:42.683 The time of reconstruction had begun. 0:10:43.600,0:10:45.820 But many whites did not plan on fulfilling 0:10:45.820,0:10:47.750 the intentions of the new laws. 0:10:47.750,0:10:50.410 Mississippi passed their[br]Black Code, giving courts 0:10:50.410,0:10:53.070 the right to apprentice former slaves, 0:10:53.070,0:10:55.793 with preference to their former owners. 0:10:57.551,0:11:00.201 - [Man] "The negro is free[br]whether we like it or not. 0:11:01.111,0:11:03.127 "For the purity and[br]progress of both races, 0:11:03.127,0:11:04.927 "They must accept their place in the 0:11:04.927,0:11:06.543 "lower order of things. 0:11:07.891,0:11:10.947 "That place is the cotton[br]fields of the south. 0:11:10.947,0:11:13.847 "Such is the rule of the plantation, 0:11:13.847,0:11:15.317 "and the law of God." 0:11:16.460,0:11:18.063 Governor Benjamin Humphreys. 0:11:20.700,0:11:22.440 - [Narrator] But blacks did[br]not see themselves trapped 0:11:22.440,0:11:24.260 in the cotton fields. 0:11:24.260,0:11:26.910 They used their vote to[br]elect black representatives, 0:11:26.910,0:11:29.623 sat on juries, and sent[br]their children to school. 0:11:30.560,0:11:32.110 - What had alarmed the white south during 0:11:32.110,0:11:35.690 reconstruction was not[br]evidence of black failure, 0:11:35.690,0:11:37.940 but evidence of black success. 0:11:37.940,0:11:39.870 Evidence of black assertion. 0:11:39.870,0:11:41.920 Evidence of black independence. 0:11:41.920,0:11:44.380 Evidence of black advancement. 0:11:44.380,0:11:46.390 And evidence that black men were learning. 0:11:46.390,0:11:48.090 They used this as political power. 0:11:49.169,0:11:50.460 - [Narrator] If intimidation[br]would not keep blacks in 0:11:50.460,0:11:53.263 their place, then violence might. 0:11:54.868,0:11:56.960 In the same year that[br]reconstruction began, 0:11:56.960,0:12:00.510 Nathan Bedford Forrest,[br]a Confederate general, 0:12:00.510,0:12:02.213 founded the Ku Klux Klan. 0:12:03.774,0:12:05.450 The image of the Klan[br]in white hoods killing 0:12:05.450,0:12:08.240 blacks by the lights of burning crosses 0:12:08.240,0:12:10.963 would forever be etched[br]in the American mind. 0:12:12.359,0:12:14.770 - The way white supremacists made sure 0:12:14.770,0:12:17.340 that ex slaves would fall back into place, 0:12:17.340,0:12:20.713 or nearly back into place, was terror. 0:12:23.580,0:12:25.150 Beating people up, 0:12:25.150,0:12:27.120 burning down their houses, 0:12:27.120,0:12:28.710 shooting them, 0:12:28.710,0:12:32.653 just the usual physical[br]mayhem of personal violence. 0:12:34.717,0:12:37.967 (slow, dramatic music) 0:12:42.045,0:12:42.878 - [Narrator] Although[br]they were beaten into 0:12:42.878,0:12:47.830 submission and retreat, 1869[br]offered a glimmer of hope 0:12:47.830,0:12:50.070 with the election of Civil War hero, 0:12:50.070,0:12:52.490 Ulysses S. Grant to the presidency. 0:12:52.490,0:12:54.360 And Grant delivered. 0:12:54.360,0:12:55.880 He sent federal troops to the south 0:12:55.880,0:12:57.563 to counter groups like the Klan. 0:12:58.470,0:13:02.130 But for the black community,[br]even federal intervention 0:13:02.130,0:13:03.123 was not enough. 0:13:04.680,0:13:09.497 - The question of, "Should[br]we stay at home in the south, 0:13:09.497,0:13:12.777 "should we stay at home[br]in the United States, 0:13:12.777,0:13:16.669 "should we move somewhere[br]else to the north, 0:13:16.669,0:13:17.917 "should we move to the west, 0:13:17.917,0:13:21.057 "or should we leave the[br]United States entirely?" 0:13:25.740,0:13:27.510 - [Narrator] Feeling trapped and helpless, 0:13:27.510,0:13:31.830 and in need of answers, some[br]turned to an unlikely source, 0:13:31.830,0:13:34.623 an old man who had been born in slavery. 0:13:37.217,0:13:39.517 - [Man] "We needed land for our children. 0:13:39.517,0:13:41.893 "That caused my heart to grieve in sorrow. 0:13:43.138,0:13:45.607 "Pity for my race caused[br]me to work for them. 0:13:45.607,0:13:48.093 "Confidence is perished and faded away. 0:13:48.987,0:13:51.417 "We are going to leave the south." 0:13:52.510,0:13:53.343 Pap Singleton. 0:13:56.225,0:14:01.225 (soft gospel music)[br](water wading) 0:14:07.750,0:14:12.050 - [Narrator] In 1874, Pap[br]Singleton, a former slave, 0:14:12.050,0:14:15.260 would lead a group of 300[br]blacks through Kansas. 0:14:15.260,0:14:18.640 John Brown struck his first[br]blow against slavery there. 0:14:18.640,0:14:20.720 God must be in Kansas, 0:14:20.720,0:14:22.953 and black people wanted[br]to go where God was. 0:14:23.820,0:14:25.870 No one spoke this cause stronger 0:14:25.870,0:14:26.973 than Sojourner Truth. 0:14:28.627,0:14:30.487 - [Woman] "I have prayed[br]so long that my people 0:14:30.487,0:14:34.017 "would go to Kansas, and[br]that God would make straight 0:14:34.017,0:14:35.393 "the way before them. 0:14:36.897,0:14:39.814 "This colored people is[br]going to be a people. 0:14:39.814,0:14:41.897 "Do you think God has[br]them robbed and scourged 0:14:41.897,0:14:44.267 "all the days of their life for nothing?" 0:14:45.420,0:14:48.100 - Many of the people[br]saw their promise land. 0:14:48.100,0:14:50.910 They saw their Jordan[br]River, being those places 0:14:50.910,0:14:53.090 that they had to cross over into 0:14:53.090,0:14:55.440 where freedom would be away from those 0:14:55.440,0:14:57.590 who had basically had[br]their feet on their necks 0:14:57.590,0:15:00.040 all this time, just like[br]the Pharaoh had done 0:15:00.040,0:15:01.090 in the Bible. 0:15:01.090,0:15:03.880 So many of them followed[br]their leaders so that 0:15:03.880,0:15:06.660 they could have their life to themselves 0:15:06.660,0:15:09.100 however they wanted that to be built. 0:15:09.100,0:15:12.100 - They also believed in the god of Daniel 0:15:12.100,0:15:13.800 who was an avenging god. 0:15:13.800,0:15:15.320 This is the god of the apocalypse, 0:15:15.320,0:15:16.750 the god of the second coming, 0:15:16.750,0:15:19.460 the god of the decision[br]of who was going to 0:15:19.460,0:15:21.710 go to heaven and who[br]was going to go to hell. 0:15:24.970,0:15:26.660 - [Narrator] But as much[br]as Kansas loomed as a 0:15:26.660,0:15:29.760 promise land for many[br]blacks, getting there could 0:15:29.760,0:15:31.483 become a journey through hell. 0:15:32.520,0:15:35.430 Many would perish from[br]starvation and exposure. 0:15:35.430,0:15:37.443 One group fell victim to Yellow Fever, 0:15:38.340,0:15:41.333 and there was always the[br]fear of murderous whites. 0:15:43.550,0:15:45.327 - [Man] "I saw colored men[br]and women cast themselves 0:15:45.327,0:15:47.003 "to the ground in despair. 0:15:47.897,0:15:50.787 "Heard them grown and[br]shout their lamentations. 0:15:51.767,0:15:53.957 "What is to become of[br]these wretched people? 0:15:53.957,0:15:55.423 "God only knows. 0:15:56.367,0:15:59.849 "There were nearly half[br]a thousand scattered all 0:15:59.849,0:16:02.087 "along the banks of[br]the mighty Mississippi. 0:16:02.087,0:16:05.417 "Without shelter, without food. 0:16:05.417,0:16:09.317 "With no hope of escaping from[br]their present surrounding, 0:16:09.317,0:16:12.407 "and hardly a chance of[br]returning from whence they came." 0:16:14.030,0:16:14.933 Riverboat captain. 0:16:16.833,0:16:17.666 - [Narrator] For those[br]who survived to make it 0:16:17.666,0:16:20.820 to Kansas, they found[br]a land of hard winters, 0:16:20.820,0:16:24.480 torrential rains, and violent tornados. 0:16:24.480,0:16:27.260 But through spiritual[br]and emotional conviction, 0:16:27.260,0:16:30.960 they sustained themselves[br]and within a few years, 0:16:30.960,0:16:32.743 over 20 towns would be built. 0:16:33.790,0:16:35.250 But not all blacks thought the answer 0:16:35.250,0:16:37.010 was to leave the south. 0:16:37.010,0:16:39.370 Frederick Douglass, a[br]former slave who had become 0:16:39.370,0:16:42.080 the leading black voice for abolition, 0:16:42.080,0:16:44.033 opposed any mass exodus. 0:16:45.627,0:16:47.697 - [Man] "The country will[br]be told of the hundreds 0:16:47.697,0:16:50.307 "who go to Kansas, but[br]not of the thousands 0:16:50.307,0:16:52.577 "who stay in Mississippi. 0:16:52.577,0:16:55.127 "They will be told of[br]the destitute who require 0:16:55.127,0:16:57.737 "material aid but not of the multitude 0:16:57.737,0:17:00.823 "who are bravely sustaining[br]themselves where they are. 0:17:02.164,0:17:03.997 "If the people of this[br]country cannot be protected 0:17:03.997,0:17:05.857 "in every state of the Union, 0:17:05.857,0:17:08.666 "the sovereignty of the[br]nation is an empty one 0:17:08.666,0:17:12.351 "and the power in individual[br]states is greater than 0:17:12.351,0:17:14.146 "the power of the United States." 0:17:15.640,0:17:16.772 Frederick Douglass. 0:17:20.619,0:17:23.359 - [Narrator] In 1877, Republican president 0:17:23.359,0:17:26.369 Rutherford B. Hayes,[br]who had won the election 0:17:26.369,0:17:28.620 by making a deal for electoral votes 0:17:28.620,0:17:30.230 from southern Democrats, 0:17:30.230,0:17:32.830 pulled federal troops from the south. 0:17:32.830,0:17:36.460 The party of Lincoln had[br]betrayed the former slaves. 0:17:36.460,0:17:38.713 Reconstruction was over. 0:17:40.180,0:17:42.980 Whites began to reassert[br]their power over blacks, 0:17:42.980,0:17:45.870 politically, legally, and economically. 0:17:45.870,0:17:49.340 And no where was this change more crushing 0:17:49.340,0:17:52.080 than for those blacks who were farmers, 0:17:52.080,0:17:53.893 most of whom were sharecroppers. 0:17:55.470,0:17:59.090 - Owners controlled their little worlds. 0:17:59.090,0:18:01.440 So there was no police power, 0:18:01.440,0:18:04.460 there was no federal power,[br]there was no state power 0:18:04.460,0:18:07.560 that actually made a[br]difference on the ground. 0:18:07.560,0:18:10.130 So you had relations of dependency 0:18:10.130,0:18:13.233 built around obedience and submission. 0:18:14.078,0:18:17.470 That was the ideology of[br]the culture of slavery. 0:18:17.470,0:18:19.920 Obedience and submission. 0:18:19.920,0:18:23.500 - Here was the black man,[br]having very limited education, 0:18:23.500,0:18:26.770 not knowing how to figure and to read. 0:18:26.770,0:18:30.820 With the books being kept by the white man 0:18:30.820,0:18:32.770 who is giving him his supplies 0:18:32.770,0:18:36.610 to start a crop, and[br]likewise, own the land. 0:18:36.610,0:18:39.800 When the black man ended[br]up at the end of the year, 0:18:39.800,0:18:42.043 and brought his crop in, 0:18:43.330,0:18:47.463 the white man immediately[br]arranged to out figure him, 0:18:49.364,0:18:51.100 - The man would take your cotton, 0:18:51.100,0:18:53.310 and then the man that[br]had stole you had credit, 0:18:53.310,0:18:54.420 he'll run the books up on you, 0:18:54.420,0:18:56.166 so you didn't have nothin'. 0:18:56.166,0:18:59.630 You work a whole year and[br]handpick 40 bales of cotton, 0:18:59.630,0:19:00.930 and come out with nothin'. 0:19:02.900,0:19:04.830 - [Narrator] Frustrated[br]by the unfulfilled promise 0:19:04.830,0:19:08.400 of emancipation, blacks[br]turned to the next generation. 0:19:08.400,0:19:09.313 To their children. 0:19:10.240,0:19:12.870 They believed education[br]would be the key to overcome 0:19:12.870,0:19:14.600 white dominance. 0:19:14.600,0:19:17.810 One man would come to symbolize this hope. 0:19:17.810,0:19:19.093 Booker T. Washington. 0:19:19.950,0:19:23.290 Born into slavery, Washington[br]has managed to learn 0:19:23.290,0:19:26.913 to read and write and at[br]nine he worked in salt mine. 0:19:28.260,0:19:31.270 But within in 25 years,[br]Washington had been a student 0:19:31.270,0:19:34.090 and a teacher at the Hampton Institute, 0:19:34.090,0:19:36.450 and was invited to be[br]principal of a new school 0:19:36.450,0:19:37.363 in Alabama. 0:19:38.690,0:19:41.113 That school, was Tuskegee. 0:19:45.922,0:19:48.240 Arriving in a community of[br]farms and sharecroppers, 0:19:48.240,0:19:50.423 where attending school[br]was rare, if at all, 0:19:51.368,0:19:53.470 Washington faced a great challenge: 0:19:53.470,0:19:57.113 to build a school, attract[br]students, recruit teachers. 0:19:59.020,0:20:02.900 Only July 4, 1881, in the[br]Zion Hill Baptist Church, 0:20:02.900,0:20:05.253 the Tuskegee Institute was born. 0:20:06.440,0:20:08.270 Washington and his 30 recruits 0:20:08.270,0:20:11.660 believed the only way to one[br]day have their own buildings, 0:20:11.660,0:20:13.703 would be to build them themselves. 0:20:14.960,0:20:18.730 - The reason that it started[br]as an industrial school 0:20:18.730,0:20:20.290 was because they had nothing, 0:20:20.290,0:20:23.460 and so they had to build,[br]grow, and make everything. 0:20:23.460,0:20:25.410 Like harness making, because they needed 0:20:25.410,0:20:28.570 to have harnesses for the farm animals. 0:20:28.570,0:20:30.780 Carpentry because they[br]needed to build the building. 0:20:30.780,0:20:33.850 Brick masonry because they[br]needed to make the bricks. 0:20:33.850,0:20:35.630 These kinds of trades, 0:20:35.630,0:20:39.370 printing, shoemaking,[br]tailoring, carpentry, 0:20:39.370,0:20:42.640 all of these things were[br]things that they could use 0:20:42.640,0:20:44.660 to build a business. 0:20:44.660,0:20:47.650 - [Narrator] One student who[br]found opportunity at Tuskegee, 0:20:47.650,0:20:49.653 was a young man named William Holtzclaw. 0:20:50.710,0:20:53.710 His parents, especially his mother, Addie, 0:20:53.710,0:20:55.660 were passionate about getting an education 0:20:55.660,0:20:56.610 for their children. 0:20:57.690,0:20:59.340 They even built their own school. 0:21:02.049,0:21:04.334 (hitting) 0:21:04.334,0:21:06.467 - [Man] "I remember my[br]parents went into the forest 0:21:06.467,0:21:09.747 "and cut pine poles[br]eight inches in diameter. 0:21:09.747,0:21:12.437 "Split them in half, carried[br]them on their shoulders, 0:21:12.437,0:21:15.783 "to a nice, shady spot,[br]and built a schoolhouse, 0:21:16.916,0:21:18.317 "There were no floors, no chimneys, 0:21:18.317,0:21:21.087 "and the benches were made[br]of the same material." 0:21:22.820,0:21:25.850 - [Narrator] Addie Holtzclaw[br]would provide schemes 0:21:25.850,0:21:28.990 that allowed William and his[br]brother to get an education 0:21:28.990,0:21:30.957 for most of the year. 0:21:30.957,0:21:33.673 - [Man] "The landlord[br]wanted us to pick cotton, 0:21:34.636,0:21:36.107 "but mother wanted me to remain in school. 0:21:36.107,0:21:38.767 "So she used to out[br]general him by hiding me 0:21:38.767,0:21:41.907 "behind skillets, ovens, and pots. 0:21:41.907,0:21:44.177 "Then she would slip me[br]to school the back way, 0:21:44.177,0:21:46.647 "pushing me through the[br]woods and underbrush 0:21:46.647,0:21:48.927 "until it was safe for[br]me to travel alone." 0:21:51.540,0:21:54.770 - Whenever someone had[br]wanted to go to school, 0:21:54.770,0:21:57.262 they would make sure that one of them went 0:21:57.262,0:21:58.095 and that one stayed at home. 0:21:58.095,0:22:00.610 Because if they didn't,[br]if both of them were gone, 0:22:00.610,0:22:03.682 the overseer would come[br]around and would say, 0:22:03.682,0:22:04.515 "Where are those boys?" 0:22:04.515,0:22:06.830 And he would get upset,[br]so, in order to make sure 0:22:06.830,0:22:09.340 that didn't happen,[br]she'd sent one to school 0:22:09.340,0:22:11.030 and leave one at home to do the work 0:22:11.030,0:22:13.670 so when the overseer came[br]around and needed someone, 0:22:13.670,0:22:15.820 he would call 'em, and[br]they would be there. 0:22:17.848,0:22:21.265 (thunder and lightening) 0:22:23.535,0:22:27.380 (disembodied chattering) 0:22:27.380,0:22:29.160 - [Narrator] But the[br]limited education was never 0:22:29.160,0:22:31.460 going to propel the Holtzclaw children 0:22:31.460,0:22:33.790 beyond the bondage of sharecropping, 0:22:33.790,0:22:36.350 where if the land owner didn't teach you, 0:22:36.350,0:22:37.250 the weather might. 0:22:41.867,0:22:44.590 (disembodied chattering) 0:22:44.590,0:22:47.200 William Holtzclaw heard about Tuskegee. 0:22:47.200,0:22:49.150 He wrote Booker T. Washington a letter. 0:22:52.311,0:22:53.144 - [Man] "Dear Book, 0:22:53.144,0:22:56.063 "I want to go to Tuskegee[br]to get an education. 0:22:57.551,0:22:58.384 "Can I come?" 0:23:00.410,0:23:02.197 - [Narrator] The letter found its way. 0:23:02.197,0:23:04.433 "Come," Washington replied. 0:23:06.417,0:23:08.733 - [Man] "When I walked out on campus, 0:23:10.172,0:23:11.672 "I was startled at what I saw. 0:23:13.213,0:23:15.793 "There before my eyes[br]was a huge pair of mules, 0:23:17.298,0:23:20.277 "drawin' a machine plow[br]which, to me, at the time, 0:23:20.277,0:23:21.233 "was a mystery. 0:23:22.087,0:23:25.347 "There were girls cultivating flowers, 0:23:25.347,0:23:28.717 "and boys erecting huge brick buildings. 0:23:28.717,0:23:32.157 "Some were hitching horses[br]and driving carriages, 0:23:32.157,0:23:36.217 "while others were milking[br]cows and making cheese. 0:23:36.217,0:23:39.147 "I found some boys studying drawings 0:23:39.147,0:23:40.703 "and others hammering irons. 0:23:41.917,0:23:44.647 "Each with an intense[br]earnestness that I had 0:23:44.647,0:23:47.090 "never seen in young men." 0:23:52.385,0:23:54.750 - When he first got to[br]Tuskegee, he was really amazed 0:23:54.750,0:23:57.550 that there were so many[br]things that he didn't know. 0:23:57.550,0:24:01.070 He was also amazed as[br]to how they organized 0:24:02.238,0:24:03.820 the students in the dormitory setting, 0:24:03.820,0:24:07.090 particularly himself,[br]because he had never slept 0:24:07.090,0:24:09.205 between two sheets. 0:24:09.205,0:24:11.640 And when he went to the[br]dorm, he was sleeping, 0:24:11.640,0:24:13.563 as they say, ready roll. 0:24:14.459,0:24:17.180 He had all of his clothes on[br]and someone had to come in 0:24:17.180,0:24:20.590 and tell him that you have[br]such a thing as a night shirt 0:24:20.590,0:24:23.003 and a shirt that you wear during the day. 0:24:24.646,0:24:25.627 - [Man] "My plan was[br]for them to see not only 0:24:25.627,0:24:29.057 "the utility of labor, but[br]its beauty and dignity. 0:24:29.057,0:24:30.897 "They will be taught how to lift labor up 0:24:30.897,0:24:33.117 "from drudgery and toil,[br]and they will learn 0:24:33.117,0:24:34.667 "to love work for its own sake. 0:24:35.737,0:24:38.617 "We wanted them to return[br]to the plantation districts 0:24:38.617,0:24:41.437 "and show people there[br]how to put new energy 0:24:41.437,0:24:45.117 "and new ideas into farming,[br]as well as the intellectual, 0:24:45.117,0:24:47.407 "and moral and religious[br]life of the people." 0:24:48.699,0:24:50.000 Booker T. Washington. 0:24:50.000,0:24:52.490 - [Narrator] Washington's[br]vision would bear fruit. 0:24:52.490,0:24:55.570 In less than a decade,[br]Tuskegee had over a thousand 0:24:55.570,0:24:58.850 acres of land, 14 buildings, 0:24:58.850,0:25:03.410 a farm, and a dozen shops,[br]from a laundry to a blacksmith, 0:25:03.410,0:25:06.570 with enrollment of 400 students 0:25:06.570,0:25:08.530 and 28 teachers. 0:25:08.530,0:25:11.000 Washington wanted his[br]students at Tuskegee to learn 0:25:11.000,0:25:15.340 to work and work hard, no[br]matter how menial the task. 0:25:15.340,0:25:17.100 He also wanted to keep southern whites 0:25:17.100,0:25:19.110 from feeling threatened. 0:25:19.110,0:25:20.890 - That's why they thought[br]Booker T. Washington was 0:25:20.890,0:25:22.774 the great godsend. 0:25:22.774,0:25:23.610 That somehow he'd come forward with an 0:25:23.610,0:25:25.800 educational philosophy[br]which said said in the fact 0:25:25.800,0:25:28.780 that you can educate a[br]people and still keep 0:25:28.780,0:25:29.810 them subordinate. 0:25:29.810,0:25:32.520 And he once gave a talk and[br]a speech, and I think it's 0:25:32.520,0:25:34.350 the most concrete example. 0:25:34.350,0:25:36.530 While he was giving the talk, 0:25:36.530,0:25:41.360 and actually he was asked this[br]question by a white farmer. 0:25:41.360,0:25:44.698 He says, "Why should I[br]sent Mandy to Tuskegee to 0:25:44.698,0:25:48.693 "learn how to cook when[br]she can spit in a skillet 0:25:48.693,0:25:50.187 "and know when it's hot?" 0:25:51.090,0:25:53.147 And Washington's response was, 0:25:53.147,0:25:55.667 "The purpose of industrial[br]education is to teach her 0:25:55.667,0:25:57.083 "not to spit in the skillet. 0:25:58.042,0:26:00.417 "Not to teach her to be[br]something other than a cook, 0:26:00.417,0:26:01.987 "but to be a better cook. 0:26:01.987,0:26:03.707 "To be a better sharecropper. 0:26:03.707,0:26:05.500 "To be a better mind worker." 0:26:05.500,0:26:09.993 And so whites really[br]thought, "This is a god send. 0:26:10.940,0:26:13.057 "We've now come up with[br]a philosophy of education 0:26:13.057,0:26:14.627 "that can keep people in their place 0:26:14.627,0:26:17.650 "and even teach them to be[br]better within their place." 0:26:17.650,0:26:19.633 And they thought that that was possible. 0:26:20.552,0:26:23.980 They learned very quickly[br]that that was not possible. 0:26:23.980,0:26:26.320 - [Narrator] At the Haines[br]School in Augusta, Georgia, 0:26:26.320,0:26:29.550 its founder, Lucy Laney,[br]would expand Washington's 0:26:29.550,0:26:33.570 philosophy of teaching and take[br]it in a different direction. 0:26:33.570,0:26:37.063 She insisted upon developing[br]her children's full potential. 0:26:38.240,0:26:42.240 Her students studied English,[br]mathematics, history, 0:26:42.240,0:26:47.040 chemistry, physics,[br]psychology, sociology, French, 0:26:47.040,0:26:47.883 and German. 0:26:48.877,0:26:51.467 "What we need to develop," Laney said, 0:26:51.467,0:26:53.383 "Is mind is not hands. 0:26:54.362,0:26:56.540 "Race leaders, not followers." 0:26:56.540,0:26:58.530 Laney was especially[br]interested in training 0:26:58.530,0:27:00.513 young black women to be teachers. 0:27:01.487,0:27:03.737 - [Woman] "The educated[br]negro woman is needed 0:27:03.737,0:27:05.852 "in the schoolroom. 0:27:05.852,0:27:08.397 "Not only in the kindergarten[br]and primary school, 0:27:08.397,0:27:10.743 "but in the high school and the college. 0:27:11.821,0:27:13.547 "She may give advice and[br]knowledge that will change 0:27:13.547,0:27:15.957 "a whole community and start its people 0:27:15.957,0:27:17.280 "on the upward way." 0:27:19.930,0:27:21.380 - African American women were playing 0:27:21.380,0:27:24.990 a much more critical[br]role than what was common 0:27:24.990,0:27:26.460 in American education generally. 0:27:26.460,0:27:29.160 They were critical as educational leaders, 0:27:29.160,0:27:32.230 but even within the trenches[br]of local communities, 0:27:32.230,0:27:35.710 in terms of fundraising and[br]teaching and support groups, 0:27:35.710,0:27:38.630 that you cannot really[br]understand the development 0:27:38.630,0:27:41.390 of African American education[br]without really appreciating 0:27:41.390,0:27:43.330 the leadership of African American women. 0:27:43.330,0:27:45.440 - Teaching was a very important profession 0:27:45.440,0:27:47.410 for black women in this period of time. 0:27:47.410,0:27:49.060 It was not just a profession, 0:27:49.060,0:27:52.210 but it was a mission to[br]uplift African Americans, 0:27:52.210,0:27:54.740 to teach people to read. 0:27:54.740,0:27:59.286 To also teach them the ways of this world 0:27:59.286,0:28:01.510 as free people. 0:28:01.510,0:28:02.910 - [Narrator] But black[br]teachers had to show 0:28:02.910,0:28:04.570 real ingenuity. 0:28:04.570,0:28:08.070 Black schools were often[br]barren affairs with few books, 0:28:08.070,0:28:10.063 maps, pencils, or pens. 0:28:11.837,0:28:14.167 - [Woman] "We had students[br]draw the national flag 0:28:14.167,0:28:15.877 "on the blackboard. 0:28:15.877,0:28:19.267 "These flags were assigned a[br]place of honor on the board 0:28:19.267,0:28:22.967 "and became a permanent[br]picture in the room for years. 0:28:22.967,0:28:25.847 "Pupils were careful not[br]to erase the flag when 0:28:25.847,0:28:27.577 "they erased the blackboard." 0:28:31.596,0:28:34.596 (soft gospel music) 0:28:41.001,0:28:41.930 - [Narrator] The positive[br]image of Laney and others 0:28:41.930,0:28:45.270 was hopeful, but the[br]reality for most blacks 0:28:45.270,0:28:48.103 was hard, back breaking[br]work and servitude. 0:28:50.727,0:28:52.712 - [Man] "I've been a[br]factory hand, janitor, 0:28:52.712,0:28:54.357 "importer, and butler, and wiping engines 0:28:54.357,0:28:55.533 "on the railroad. 0:28:56.662,0:28:57.807 "I worked as a helper for a carpenter 0:28:57.807,0:28:59.763 "laying bricks for masons. 0:29:00.707,0:29:02.454 "I've been a driver of teams, 0:29:02.454,0:29:03.597 "a pick and shovel man, 0:29:03.597,0:29:05.903 "and drove steel for a section boss. 0:29:07.220,0:29:08.777 "I was a hand on the[br]Mississippi, and working in 0:29:08.777,0:29:11.367 "a steel foundry, and it[br]seemed like I did a hundred 0:29:11.367,0:29:12.517 "more jobs." 0:29:15.610,0:29:19.022 - My grandma would work[br]in the tub washing the 0:29:19.022,0:29:23.481 clothes of the prominent[br]white people of our city. 0:29:23.481,0:29:28.481 And for all of that washing,[br]for the whole white family, 0:29:28.950,0:29:32.650 washing, and then ironing,[br]she got a dollar and a half 0:29:33.899,0:29:36.860 for the whole family[br]laundry, at the end of it. 0:29:36.860,0:29:39.550 So there was several[br]families that she had, 0:29:39.550,0:29:41.900 but it was just a dollar and a half 0:29:41.900,0:29:43.953 for all of that work. 0:29:45.130,0:29:47.294 - [Woman] "White folks didn't[br]have no feelin' for ya. 0:29:47.294,0:29:49.033 "They pretended they did. 0:29:49.033,0:29:51.625 "They had nannies to[br]give they child comfort. 0:29:51.625,0:29:53.257 "That was my name, nanny. 0:29:53.257,0:29:55.747 "They would teach their children[br]they were better than you. 0:29:55.747,0:29:58.517 "You was giving them all[br]that love, and you'd hear 0:29:58.517,0:30:01.207 "them say, 'You're not[br]supposed to love nanny. 0:30:01.207,0:30:02.367 "'Nanny's a nigger.' 0:30:03.235,0:30:05.017 "And they would say it[br]so nasty, until it cut 0:30:05.017,0:30:06.347 "your heart out almost, 0:30:06.347,0:30:08.493 "and you couldn't say a mumbling word. 0:30:09.655,0:30:10.727 "A woman knows how to shift a smile 0:30:10.727,0:30:12.337 "when the burden is so heavy. 0:30:12.337,0:30:14.467 "Know how to smile when she want to cry. 0:30:14.467,0:30:17.817 "Smile when sorrow done[br]touched her so deeply. 0:30:17.817,0:30:19.957 "So that's I feel black women in the field 0:30:19.957,0:30:24.037 "had to pray and had[br]to moan and had to cry. 0:30:24.037,0:30:26.664 "Them prayers went a long way 0:30:26.664,0:30:27.757 "and protected a lot of people. 0:30:27.757,0:30:30.053 "And God wiped away those tears. 0:30:31.177,0:30:34.430 "And the next morning, we[br]had the strength to go on." 0:30:34.430,0:30:35.483 Dorothy Bolden. 0:30:36.940,0:30:38.610 - [Narrator] But despite[br]all the obstacles, 0:30:38.610,0:30:40.420 blacks began to rise. 0:30:40.420,0:30:42.410 More blacks were being educated. 0:30:42.410,0:30:45.330 There was now a growing[br]black middle class. 0:30:45.330,0:30:47.000 And the children of the former slaves 0:30:47.000,0:30:49.770 were not to quick to bow[br]down to the white man 0:30:49.770,0:30:50.993 as their parents had. 0:30:52.910,0:30:57.910 - Whites perceived a new[br]generation of black southerners. 0:30:58.200,0:31:00.970 The sons and the daughters[br]and the grandsons 0:31:00.970,0:31:03.800 and granddaughters of the former slaves, 0:31:03.800,0:31:05.600 who had not been disciplined by slavery, 0:31:05.600,0:31:07.163 who had never known slavery, 0:31:08.300,0:31:12.260 who were perceived as much[br]more restless and obviously 0:31:12.260,0:31:15.430 much more threatening[br]because unlike some of their 0:31:15.430,0:31:19.073 parents and grandparents, they[br]seemed less afraid of whites. 0:31:20.541,0:31:21.477 - [Man] "We are not the negro from whom 0:31:21.477,0:31:24.723 "the chains of slavery fell[br]a quarter of a century ago. 0:31:25.626,0:31:27.259 "Most assuredly not. 0:31:27.259,0:31:30.037 "We are now qualified as[br]being the equal of whites, 0:31:30.037,0:31:32.257 "and should be treated as such. 0:31:32.257,0:31:36.647 "Every time we see a negro[br]physician, it does us good. 0:31:36.647,0:31:39.180 "When we see a negro pharmacist, 0:31:39.180,0:31:40.177 "it goes still better. 0:31:40.177,0:31:43.117 "When we see the lawyers, professors, 0:31:43.117,0:31:47.287 "bank presidents, inventors,[br]machinists, mechanics, 0:31:47.287,0:31:49.957 "we grin as much as our mouth will allow, 0:31:49.957,0:31:53.460 "and shout, 'The negro is coming!'" 0:31:53.460,0:31:55.503 Editor, Richmond Planter. 0:32:00.572,0:32:02.280 - [Narrator] Many whites feared,[br]since the end of slavery, 0:32:02.280,0:32:03.980 that blacks would come to feel they were 0:32:03.980,0:32:05.810 equal to whites. 0:32:05.810,0:32:07.963 Now that fear seemed realized. 0:32:09.128,0:32:12.215 - [Man] "The colored race[br]is getting more unreliable. 0:32:12.215,0:32:14.497 "Freedom has ruined them in every way. 0:32:14.497,0:32:17.323 "Only the old timey[br]darkies can be trusted. 0:32:18.183,0:32:20.507 "The young ones are sullen[br]and grow more insolent 0:32:20.507,0:32:21.557 "every day." 0:32:22.582,0:32:24.887 - [Woman] "They don't[br]sing as they used to. 0:32:24.887,0:32:28.173 "You should've known the[br]old days of the plantation. 0:32:29.719,0:32:31.527 "Every year it seems[br]they're losing more and more 0:32:31.527,0:32:33.713 "of their own confessed good humor. 0:32:35.338,0:32:37.877 "I sometimes feel I[br]don't know 'em anymore. 0:32:37.877,0:32:40.257 "They've grown so glum and serious. 0:32:40.257,0:32:42.777 "I'm free to say, I'm scared of 'em." 0:32:44.235,0:32:46.030 - [Narrator] Nowhere was[br]this fear more pronounced 0:32:46.030,0:32:48.000 than in Memphis, Tennessee, 0:32:48.000,0:32:52.270 where in the 1880s, 40% of[br]the population was black. 0:32:52.270,0:32:54.500 Faced with this growing black presence, 0:32:54.500,0:32:57.130 whites demanded that[br]the informal practices, 0:32:57.130,0:33:00.640 which has segregated the races since 1865, 0:33:00.640,0:33:04.290 became legalized and strictly enforced. 0:33:04.290,0:33:06.040 - The laws were intended to accomplish 0:33:06.040,0:33:07.860 what is was clear the conventions were not 0:33:07.860,0:33:09.860 going to accomplish, which was again, 0:33:09.860,0:33:13.270 to make African American act inferior. 0:33:13.270,0:33:15.840 Again, if white people[br]couldn't make African Americans 0:33:15.840,0:33:18.190 be inferior, they couldn't[br]prevent some of them 0:33:18.190,0:33:20.580 from attaining a kind[br]of middle class status 0:33:20.580,0:33:23.030 despite the violence and[br]despite the discrimination, 0:33:23.030,0:33:24.980 then they could make them act inferior. 0:33:26.439,0:33:28.982 (train whistle blowing) 0:33:28.982,0:33:30.990 - [Narrator] These forced[br]acts of humiliation 0:33:30.990,0:33:32.640 began to manifest themselves on 0:33:32.640,0:33:34.730 the southern railroad lines. 0:33:34.730,0:33:38.060 Special Jim Crow cars[br]were set aside on trains, 0:33:38.060,0:33:39.790 for black men and women, 0:33:39.790,0:33:43.150 and for those white men who[br]wanted to smoke and drink. 0:33:43.150,0:33:48.150 In 1884, Ida B. Wells, a[br]young teacher from Memphis, 0:33:48.855,0:33:51.170 was quietly reading in a first class car 0:33:51.170,0:33:53.090 when a conductor ordered her to move 0:33:53.090,0:33:54.090 to the Jim Crow car. 0:33:56.504,0:33:59.087 - [Woman] "I refuse, saying[br]the forward car was a smoker, 0:33:59.087,0:34:00.693 "and I was in the ladies' car. 0:34:02.024,0:34:03.327 "I proposed to stay. 0:34:03.327,0:34:05.597 "He tried to drag me out of my seat, 0:34:05.597,0:34:08.027 "but the moment he caught hold of my arm, 0:34:08.027,0:34:11.550 "I fastened my teeth on[br]the back of his hand." 0:34:11.550,0:34:12.887 Ida B. Wells. 0:34:14.199,0:34:15.880 - They are able to get[br]her out of the seat, 0:34:15.880,0:34:19.600 but she refuses to go into[br]the accommodation car. 0:34:19.600,0:34:21.172 And she gets off the train, 0:34:22.050,0:34:26.080 walks back to town with her dress torn, 0:34:26.080,0:34:27.600 with her hat now askew. 0:34:27.600,0:34:30.757 She will sue the Chesapeake[br]and Ohio railway. 0:34:30.757,0:34:33.251 She takes this mighty[br]corporation to court, 0:34:33.251,0:34:34.860 and she does prevail in the end 0:34:34.860,0:34:37.730 because the judge does say[br]that indeed she was a lady. 0:34:37.730,0:34:39.409 She's a school teacher, 0:34:39.409,0:34:42.293 she was dressed the way[br]she was supposed to dress, 0:34:42.293,0:34:43.393 she acted accordingly. 0:34:44.351,0:34:45.840 - [Narrator] But the[br]victory was short lived. 0:34:45.840,0:34:48.239 The verdict was overturned 0:34:48.239,0:34:49.713 by a Tennessee appeals court. 0:34:51.315,0:34:52.317 - [Woman] "I had firmly believed all along 0:34:52.317,0:34:55.463 "that the law was on our side[br]and would give us justice. 0:34:57.249,0:34:59.899 "I feel shorn of that belief[br]and utterly discouraged. 0:35:01.575,0:35:03.937 "If it were possible, I would[br]gather the race is my arms 0:35:03.937,0:35:05.403 "and fly away with them. 0:35:06.987,0:35:11.593 "God, is there no redress,[br]no peace nor justice, for us? 0:35:12.437,0:35:17.307 "Teach us what to do, for I am[br]sorely, bitterly, disgusted." 0:35:18.780,0:35:21.217 - She said, "I wanted[br]so badly to do something 0:35:21.217,0:35:24.527 "great for people, and I thought I had. 0:35:24.527,0:35:28.137 "But now with this, I feel that justice 0:35:28.137,0:35:30.057 "is no longer on our side." 0:35:31.328,0:35:32.720 - [Narrator] Inspired by[br]her personal confrontation 0:35:32.720,0:35:36.210 with Jim Crow, Wells decided[br]to fight for the rights 0:35:36.210,0:35:37.513 of all black people. 0:35:38.350,0:35:41.490 She taught school by day, and at night, 0:35:41.490,0:35:44.393 wrote newspaper articles[br]under the pen name Iola. 0:35:45.350,0:35:48.350 In the late 1880s, when[br]the Tennessee legislature 0:35:48.350,0:35:51.080 ruled to take the vote away from blacks, 0:35:51.080,0:35:52.363 Wells attacked. 0:35:53.840,0:35:56.297 - [Woman] "The dailies of[br]our city say that whites 0:35:56.297,0:35:58.113 "must rule this country, 0:35:59.538,0:36:02.557 "but this is an expression[br]without a thought. 0:36:02.557,0:36:06.327 "The old southern voice[br]that made the negros jump 0:36:06.327,0:36:08.683 "and run to their holes like rats, 0:36:09.664,0:36:13.137 "is told to shut up,[br]for the negro of today 0:36:13.137,0:36:17.110 "is not the same as[br]negros were 30 years ago." 0:36:18.337,0:36:22.319 ♪ Swing low ♪ 0:36:22.319,0:36:27.319 ♪ Sweet chariot ♪ 0:36:27.539,0:36:32.539 ♪ Coming for to carry me home ♪ 0:36:33.009,0:36:36.797 ♪ Swing low ♪ 0:36:36.797,0:36:37.873 ♪ Sweet ♪ 0:36:37.873,0:36:39.328 - [Narrator] But a black man, or woman, 0:36:39.328,0:36:41.800 standing up for equal[br]justice in 1892, was taking 0:36:41.800,0:36:43.133 a serious risk. 0:36:46.015,0:36:49.298 On the night of March 9,[br]when Wells was out of town, 0:36:49.298,0:36:51.089 her friend, Tom Moss, and two others, 0:36:51.089,0:36:52.780 were jailed for defending[br]themselves against 0:36:52.780,0:36:56.093 several white men who had[br]attacked Moss' grocery store. 0:36:59.954,0:37:01.930 Masked vigilantes dragged[br]Moss and his two friends 0:37:01.930,0:37:05.013 from their cells to a[br]deserted railroad yard. 0:37:05.996,0:37:10.580 (gunshots)[br](dramatic music) 0:37:10.580,0:37:12.893 Before he died, Moss cried out, 0:37:14.166,0:37:16.131 "Tell my people to flee. 0:37:16.131,0:37:17.431 "There is no justice here. 0:37:19.278,0:37:21.360 This lynching, a term[br]that came to be applied 0:37:21.360,0:37:23.940 to any mob killing of blacks, 0:37:23.940,0:37:25.313 disheartened Wells. 0:37:26.400,0:37:28.110 - When she had come back to Memphis, 0:37:28.110,0:37:30.480 she saw that the community[br]was absolutely devastated, 0:37:30.480,0:37:32.130 and so was she. 0:37:32.130,0:37:33.080 No one knew quite what to do. 0:37:33.080,0:37:35.410 But when she read those words, 0:37:35.410,0:37:38.390 she said this is going to[br]be her mission as well. 0:37:38.390,0:37:41.650 And she begins to talk, begins[br]to tell black Memphians, 0:37:41.650,0:37:43.810 there is no justice for you here. 0:37:43.810,0:37:46.370 This system is not working for us. 0:37:46.370,0:37:51.160 No one is trying to get these[br]killers of our young men, 0:37:51.160,0:37:53.603 and we should go. 0:37:54.690,0:37:56.580 - [Narrator] And go they did. 0:37:56.580,0:38:00.160 At least 6,000 black[br]Memphis residents would heed 0:38:00.160,0:38:01.593 Wells' call to leave. 0:38:03.250,0:38:04.870 It was the beginning of an exodus that in 0:38:04.870,0:38:07.963 the coming decade, would[br]number in the millions. 0:38:09.633,0:38:11.600 The murder of her friend[br]also opened her eyes 0:38:11.600,0:38:15.380 to who the true targets[br]of the lynch mob were. 0:38:15.380,0:38:19.740 - When her three friends were lynched, 0:38:19.740,0:38:23.300 she began to realize that[br]even middle class black people 0:38:24.550,0:38:26.782 could be victims of that. 0:38:26.782,0:38:28.840 And she talks about how,[br]until that happened, 0:38:28.840,0:38:31.570 she had believed that, what she had called 0:38:31.570,0:38:34.600 excesses against the race,[br]were only directed against 0:38:34.600,0:38:36.150 those people who had[br]perhaps done something 0:38:36.150,0:38:36.983 to deserve it. 0:38:38.891,0:38:41.677 - [Woman] "This opened my eyes[br]to what lynching really was: 0:38:41.677,0:38:44.337 "an excuse to get rid of negros who were 0:38:44.337,0:38:47.327 "acquiring wealth and property, and thus, 0:38:47.327,0:38:51.267 "keep the race terrorized,[br]and keep the niggas down." 0:38:52.300,0:38:56.600 - Ida Wells is one voice that says that 0:38:56.600,0:38:58.300 these assumptions of black people, 0:38:59.220,0:39:03.160 that we can actually come to[br]some negotiated settlement 0:39:03.160,0:39:06.700 with whites in this period,[br]is a false assumption. 0:39:06.700,0:39:08.420 And that you have to fight. 0:39:08.420,0:39:10.820 That the only way we're[br]going to do it is to fight. 0:39:11.860,0:39:13.960 - [Narrator] Ida B. Wells[br]would eventually leave 0:39:13.960,0:39:15.233 Memphis for Chicago. 0:39:16.200,0:39:18.240 There she began her[br]crusade against the murder 0:39:18.240,0:39:20.370 of southern blacks[br]which she would continue 0:39:20.370,0:39:21.693 for the rest of her life. 0:39:23.323,0:39:24.510 But across the south, 0:39:24.510,0:39:25.763 lynching continued. 0:39:28.061,0:39:29.180 Edward White, 0:39:29.180,0:39:31.070 Vance McClure, 0:39:31.070,0:39:33.030 Link Wagner, 0:39:33.030,0:39:35.080 Robert Williams, 0:39:35.080,0:39:36.810 George King, 0:39:36.810,0:39:38.830 Scott Sherman, 0:39:38.830,0:39:40.730 John Fry, 0:39:40.730,0:39:41.963 Ovard Belzer, 0:39:42.830,0:39:44.790 William Smith, 0:39:44.790,0:39:46.750 Felican Francis, 0:39:46.750,0:39:47.923 A.L. Smart, 0:39:49.529,0:39:50.633 Mr. And Mrs. Morris, 0:39:51.863,0:39:52.920 Patrick Morris, 0:39:52.920,0:39:54.163 Gilbert Francis, 0:39:55.470,0:39:57.210 Bird Love, 0:39:57.210,0:39:58.283 Isaac Pizer, 0:39:59.140,0:40:00.633 Louis Senagall, 0:40:01.832,0:40:02.970 Joeseph Dizel, 0:40:02.970,0:40:04.930 Frank James, 0:40:04.930,0:40:06.243 Louis Munn, 0:40:07.720,0:40:09.203 Hyram Whiteman, 0:40:11.310,0:40:12.143 Desano Luciano, 0:40:13.547,0:40:14.797 Angelo Mongoso. 0:40:15.927,0:40:17.738 - The tragedy today I[br]think is a lot of people 0:40:17.738,0:40:19.230 think they just hung somebody. 0:40:19.230,0:40:24.230 But a ritualized lynching[br]was a part of the culture 0:40:25.820,0:40:27.730 of the south with even religious 0:40:27.730,0:40:30.120 and patriotic connotations. 0:40:30.120,0:40:31.193 Think about this: 0:40:32.520,0:40:35.520 some white folk, if they had the time, 0:40:35.520,0:40:40.108 dressed up in their old army garb, 0:40:40.108,0:40:41.303 their old army uniform, 0:40:42.160,0:40:43.843 to come out to a lynching. 0:40:44.891,0:40:47.000 Racism reached a point[br]it was so dramatized, 0:40:47.000,0:40:49.793 and so ritualized and[br]codified in the laws, 0:40:50.650,0:40:55.150 in the practices, that[br]it was a most normal, 0:40:55.150,0:40:57.800 patriotic, and most religious thing 0:40:57.800,0:41:01.553 that you could do, is[br]to worship segregation. 0:41:07.598,0:41:10.681 (slow country music) 0:41:17.825,0:41:19.530 - [Narrator] But in the sea of violence, 0:41:19.530,0:41:20.963 there were islands of hope. 0:41:22.705,0:41:25.085 One was in the Mississippi Delta, 0:41:25.085,0:41:26.385 a town called Mound Bayou. 0:41:28.383,0:41:30.252 - There was no other place for me 0:41:30.252,0:41:31.970 other than Mound Bayou. 0:41:31.970,0:41:33.920 To me it was the greatest place around. 0:41:37.733,0:41:39.203 We had our own officers. 0:41:40.148,0:41:42.453 I didn't have to walk[br]down the street afraid. 0:41:43.445,0:41:45.300 - This was something that was unbelievable 0:41:45.300,0:41:49.180 and that was a very racial conscious era. 0:41:49.180,0:41:52.550 Where there was so few[br]opportunities other than 0:41:52.550,0:41:55.723 manual labor for black people. 0:41:56.716,0:41:57.549 - We had everything in Mound Bayou 0:41:57.549,0:41:59.342 that a heart could desire. 0:41:59.342,0:42:01.023 We had oil, meals, we had stores, 0:42:02.108,0:42:03.108 we had bottle works. 0:42:04.711,0:42:07.975 We had hospitals, we had zoos, 0:42:07.975,0:42:09.000 we had swimming pools. 0:42:09.000,0:42:13.210 We had a lot of things[br]that people would enjoy. 0:42:13.210,0:42:16.580 - [Narrator] Mound Bayou[br]was founded in 1887 0:42:16.580,0:42:20.170 by black businessman Isaiah T. Montgomery, 0:42:20.170,0:42:22.473 a southern man with a simple philosophy: 0:42:23.510,0:42:24.963 it's a white man's country. 0:42:25.970,0:42:27.490 Let them run it. 0:42:27.490,0:42:32.150 - Isaiah Montgomery is a true American 0:42:32.150,0:42:35.970 in the sense he was[br]extraordinarily opportunistic. 0:42:35.970,0:42:38.570 Isaiah Montgomery had[br]the ability to identify 0:42:38.570,0:42:41.400 those individuals who[br]had goods and services 0:42:41.400,0:42:45.880 and political power and[br]esteem in the community and 0:42:46.910,0:42:48.993 ingratiate himself with those persons. 0:42:50.312,0:42:52.790 - [Narrator] Following the[br]lead of men like Pap Singleton, 0:42:52.790,0:42:55.823 Montgomery planned to create[br]a safe harbor for blacks. 0:42:57.271,0:43:00.952 - [Man] "It was not easy to[br]find settlers in the early days. 0:43:00.952,0:43:03.977 "The task of clearing a[br]wild country seemed hopeless 0:43:03.977,0:43:08.370 "to men with so few resources[br]and so little experience." 0:43:08.370,0:43:09.683 Isaiah Montgomery. 0:43:10.870,0:43:15.370 - The Delta of Mississippi[br]in the mid 1880s 0:43:16.579,0:43:18.645 was nothing more than a wilderness. 0:43:18.645,0:43:21.460 These black people who came[br]to the Mound Bayou area 0:43:22.379,0:43:25.980 had to cut down trees,[br]had to drain bayous, 0:43:25.980,0:43:28.600 had to build up the land, 0:43:28.600,0:43:31.790 had to fight off wild animals and snakes 0:43:31.790,0:43:35.080 and they lived as[br]frontiersmen lived throughout 0:43:37.722,0:43:38.650 the world. 0:43:38.650,0:43:42.020 - [Narrator] Day by day, a[br]town began to take shape. 0:43:42.020,0:43:44.300 Churches, a post office, and schools 0:43:44.300,0:43:46.280 replaced the forest. 0:43:46.280,0:43:48.940 - My grandmother was Aida Simmons. 0:43:48.940,0:43:51.150 She came here from Virginia. 0:43:51.150,0:43:55.393 She wanted other than what she[br]had been doing, the slavery. 0:43:56.310,0:44:00.480 And the people telling them what to do. 0:44:00.480,0:44:04.463 She had in her mind that[br]there must be something else. 0:44:05.380,0:44:08.290 There must be something[br]that was better than 0:44:08.290,0:44:09.790 what she was living under. 0:44:09.790,0:44:12.750 - Unlike some black communities, 0:44:12.750,0:44:16.330 the whites did not come in[br]and destroy the community 0:44:17.321,0:44:19.810 like some instances of[br]other black communities. 0:44:19.810,0:44:22.420 I believe, because there was a notion 0:44:23.420,0:44:26.686 that a separation of the races, 0:44:26.686,0:44:28.153 was an answer to the race problem. 0:44:29.613,0:44:32.180 - [Narrator] By 1890, Mound[br]Bayou was on its way to becoming 0:44:32.180,0:44:35.180 one of the most prosperous black[br]communities in the country. 0:44:36.508,0:44:39.208 "The jewel of the Delta,"[br]as it would later be called. 0:44:40.990,0:44:43.410 That year, Mississippi[br]assembled a convention to pass 0:44:43.410,0:44:45.403 its new Jim Crow constitution. 0:44:47.228,0:44:50.520 The only black delegate[br]was Isaiah T. Montgomery. 0:44:50.520,0:44:52.330 - Black people were looking for somebody 0:44:52.330,0:44:56.621 that whites would accept[br]and so they elected Isaiah 0:44:56.621,0:44:57.593 to go to this convention. 0:44:59.949,0:45:02.445 (soft piano music) 0:45:02.445,0:45:04.247 - [Man] "My mission is to[br]offer an olive branch of peace 0:45:04.247,0:45:07.017 "to bridge a chasm that[br]has been developing 0:45:07.017,0:45:09.607 "and widening for a[br]generation that threatens 0:45:09.607,0:45:11.787 "destruction to you and yours 0:45:11.787,0:45:14.477 "while it promises no enduring prosperity 0:45:14.477,0:45:15.907 "to me and mine." 0:45:19.072,0:45:20.690 - [Narrator] Isaiah[br]Montgomery, burning with desire 0:45:20.690,0:45:23.880 to protect Mound Bayou[br]from white intervention, 0:45:23.880,0:45:25.970 agreed to vote in favor of an amendment 0:45:25.970,0:45:27.683 to keep illiterates from voting. 0:45:28.650,0:45:30.913 The law's real meaning was clear. 0:45:32.763,0:45:34.407 - [Man] "There is no[br]use to equivocate or lie 0:45:34.407,0:45:35.543 "about the matter. 0:45:36.589,0:45:38.407 "Mississippi's constitutional[br]convention was held 0:45:38.407,0:45:41.237 "for no other purpose than[br]to eliminate the nigger 0:45:41.237,0:45:42.453 "from politics. 0:45:43.965,0:45:45.857 "Not the ignorant, but the nigger." 0:45:47.050,0:45:48.343 James Vardaman. 0:45:49.852,0:45:51.220 - [Narrator] Mississippi whites cheered, 0:45:51.220,0:45:54.480 but to black leaders,[br]Montgomery was a traitor 0:45:54.480,0:45:55.513 and a turn coat. 0:45:57.918,0:45:59.447 - [Man] "He has virtually[br]said to the nation, 0:45:59.447,0:46:04.327 "'You have done wrong in[br]giving is this great liberty.' 0:46:04.327,0:46:07.337 "He has surrendered part[br]of his rights to an enemy 0:46:07.337,0:46:10.158 "who will make this surrender a reason 0:46:10.158,0:46:11.808 "for demanding all of his rights. 0:46:13.258,0:46:15.521 "He is not a conscious traitor, 0:46:15.521,0:46:17.363 "but his act is an act of treason. 0:46:18.874,0:46:20.761 "Treason for the cause[br]of the colored people 0:46:20.761,0:46:24.187 "not only of his own state,[br]but of the United States." 0:46:25.030,0:46:26.123 Frederick Douglass. 0:46:28.522,0:46:29.500 - [Narrator] Montgomery[br]claimed the black vote 0:46:29.500,0:46:30.333 was lost anyway. 0:46:31.760,0:46:34.510 He hoped he had won a measure[br]of safety for his people. 0:46:36.022,0:46:38.553 "Mound Bayou is the ship," he said. 0:46:38.553,0:46:42.470 "All else is an open,[br]raging, tempestuous sea." 0:46:42.470,0:46:45.090 While many black leaders, like Douglass, 0:46:45.090,0:46:48.220 were outraged by Montgomery's vote, 0:46:48.220,0:46:49.903 Booker T. Washington was not. 0:46:51.321,0:46:54.700 By the 1890s, Washington's[br]reputation as a spokesperson 0:46:54.700,0:46:58.250 and fundraiser for Tuskegee was growing. 0:46:58.250,0:47:00.790 - Booker T. Washington spoke in a language 0:47:00.790,0:47:02.623 that everyone could understand. 0:47:03.579,0:47:04.710 He had something for working class blacks, 0:47:04.710,0:47:07.523 he had something for middle class blacks. 0:47:08.360,0:47:11.649 He was able to therefore[br]control black businessmen. 0:47:11.649,0:47:14.050 He was able to control black churchmen 0:47:14.050,0:47:18.020 who admired the gospel success[br]that he was articulating. 0:47:18.020,0:47:20.500 And he was able to win the admiration of 0:47:20.500,0:47:23.030 working class blacks who 0:47:23.930,0:47:27.050 saw that other alternatives had now been 0:47:27.050,0:47:28.891 essentially exhausted. 0:47:28.891,0:47:30.241 - Booker was nobody's fool. 0:47:31.130,0:47:35.080 The Carnegies and the other benefactors 0:47:35.080,0:47:38.630 of Tuskegee would not[br]have contributed a dime 0:47:39.640,0:47:43.370 if he, at that moment,[br]had offered a threat 0:47:44.300,0:47:49.300 to the existence that[br]these wealthy white men 0:47:49.410,0:47:51.380 were perpetuating. 0:47:51.380,0:47:53.740 - [Narrator] Across the south,[br]black improvement seemed 0:47:53.740,0:47:55.870 to be thwarted at every turn, 0:47:55.870,0:47:59.170 and violence continued as a daily threat. 0:47:59.170,0:48:01.580 Booker T. Washington's[br]searched for a compromise 0:48:01.580,0:48:03.263 that might bring racial peace. 0:48:06.277,0:48:09.310 His opportunity came in[br]1895 when he was invited 0:48:09.310,0:48:12.473 to speak at the Cotton[br]Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia. 0:48:14.520,0:48:17.490 September 25 was proclaimed Negro Day, 0:48:17.490,0:48:19.550 but the black press tried[br]to discourage blacks 0:48:19.550,0:48:20.383 from attending. 0:48:22.445,0:48:23.847 - [Man] "If negros wish to[br]feel that they are inferior 0:48:23.847,0:48:25.653 "to other American citizens, 0:48:26.812,0:48:28.137 "if they want to see all signs, 0:48:28.137,0:48:30.627 "signs that say, 'For Whites Only,' 0:48:30.627,0:48:33.407 "or, 'No Niggers Or Dogs Allowed.' 0:48:33.407,0:48:36.117 "If they want to be[br]humiliated and have their man 0:48:36.117,0:48:38.617 "and womanhood crushed out, then come." 0:48:39.930,0:48:41.313 Editor, Atlanta Voice. 0:48:44.842,0:48:46.380 - [Narrator] James[br]Creelman, a correspondent 0:48:46.380,0:48:49.256 for the New York World, observed the crowd 0:48:49.256,0:48:51.117 turned hostile when Washington mounted 0:48:51.117,0:48:52.023 the speaker's platform. 0:48:54.093,0:48:56.893 - [Man] "When a colored[br]man appeared on stage, 0:48:56.893,0:48:59.193 "a sudden chill fell on[br]the whole assemblage. 0:49:00.170,0:49:02.567 "One after another asked,[br]'What's that nigger doing 0:49:02.567,0:49:04.780 "'on the stage?'" 0:49:04.780,0:49:06.960 James Creelman. 0:49:06.960,0:49:08.270 - [Narrator] But when Booker T. Washington 0:49:08.270,0:49:11.670 criticized his own people[br]for seeking political 0:49:11.670,0:49:14.490 and economic power during reconstruction, 0:49:14.490,0:49:15.733 the crowd listened. 0:49:17.069,0:49:18.187 - [Man] "Our greatest[br]danger is that in the great 0:49:18.187,0:49:19.947 "leap from slavery to freedom, 0:49:19.947,0:49:23.057 "we may overlook the fact[br]that the masses of us 0:49:23.057,0:49:25.423 "are to live by the[br]production of our hands. 0:49:27.035,0:49:28.567 "The opportunity to earn[br]a dollar in a factory 0:49:28.567,0:49:30.640 "just now is worth infinitely more 0:49:31.629,0:49:33.978 "than to spend a dollar[br]in an opera house." 0:49:33.978,0:49:35.452 Booker T. Washington. 0:49:35.452,0:49:36.727 - [Man] "And when he held his dusky hand 0:49:36.727,0:49:40.413 "high above his head with[br]the fingers stretched apart, 0:49:40.413,0:49:42.247 "and said to the white[br]people of the south, 0:49:42.247,0:49:45.597 "on behalf of his race,[br]'In all things that are 0:49:45.597,0:49:49.367 "'purely social, we can be[br]as separate as the finger, 0:49:49.367,0:49:50.797 "'yet one as the hand. 0:49:50.797,0:49:54.017 "In all things essential[br]to mutual progress, 0:49:54.017,0:49:57.457 "a great sound wave[br]resounded from the walls, 0:49:57.457,0:49:59.747 "and the whole audience was on its feet 0:49:59.747,0:50:01.733 "in a delirium of applause. 0:50:03.265,0:50:06.474 "When the negro finished,[br]such an ovation followed 0:50:06.474,0:50:08.137 "as I had never seen before, 0:50:08.137,0:50:10.827 "and never expect to see again. 0:50:10.827,0:50:13.457 "White southern women pulled flowers from 0:50:13.457,0:50:16.167 "the bosom of their[br]dresses and rained them 0:50:16.167,0:50:18.017 "upon the stage. 0:50:18.017,0:50:21.847 "Tears ran down the[br]face of the many blacks 0:50:21.847,0:50:23.287 "in the audience." 0:50:24.380,0:50:25.770 - [Narrator] As news[br]of Washington's speech 0:50:25.770,0:50:28.970 began to spread, many in the[br]black community wondered, 0:50:28.970,0:50:32.090 had Washington chosen to[br]compromise their human rights 0:50:32.090,0:50:35.173 in exchange for racial peace[br]and economic stability? 0:50:37.309,0:50:40.130 This generated overwhelming[br]feelings of confusion, 0:50:40.130,0:50:40.963 disappointment, 0:50:41.820,0:50:42.723 even anger. 0:50:44.400,0:50:47.080 But the white press across[br]America rushed to embrace 0:50:47.080,0:50:48.800 Washington's views. 0:50:48.800,0:50:51.270 Former abolitionists, railroad tycoons, 0:50:51.270,0:50:54.600 political leaders, even[br]President Grover Cleveland, 0:50:54.600,0:50:56.443 wired their congratulations. 0:50:58.063,0:51:00.830 No black leader had ever[br]before so eloquently 0:51:00.830,0:51:02.223 defended Jim Crow. 0:51:03.400,0:51:06.883 The speech would be celebrated[br]as the Atlanta Compromise. 0:51:10.270,0:51:13.230 - I think Booker Washington's idea of 0:51:13.230,0:51:17.360 getting civil rights was[br]if you look, act like, 0:51:17.360,0:51:21.257 achieve like, work like,[br]own businesses like, 0:51:21.257,0:51:22.090 support the government like, 0:51:22.090,0:51:25.000 pay taxes like everybody else, 0:51:25.000,0:51:29.330 that the civil rights that you 0:51:29.330,0:51:32.513 are entitled to will be given to you. 0:51:33.630,0:51:35.090 - [Narrator] The south[br]had demonstrated this 0:51:35.090,0:51:36.270 was not the case. 0:51:38.456,0:51:40.070 Only 12 months after[br]the Atlanta Compromise, 0:51:40.070,0:51:42.170 the highest court in the land would agree. 0:51:43.950,0:51:46.260 Three years before the Washington speech, 0:51:46.260,0:51:49.000 a Louisiana shoemaker named Homar Plessy 0:51:49.000,0:51:51.890 was fined $25 for refusing to leave 0:51:51.890,0:51:56.210 a whites only car, on[br]the Louisiana railway. 0:51:56.210,0:51:58.173 Plessy was only one eighth black, 0:51:59.082,0:52:01.660 but under Louisiana law, he was black. 0:52:01.660,0:52:04.080 By 1896, the case appeared before 0:52:04.080,0:52:05.863 the United States Supreme Court. 0:52:07.829,0:52:11.145 The court upheld the[br]Louisiana law stating that, 0:52:11.145,0:52:12.837 "Separate but equal facilities[br]for blacks and whites 0:52:12.837,0:52:17.024 "did not violate the[br]constitutions new guarantee 0:52:17.024,0:52:18.536 "of equal protection." 0:52:18.536,0:52:21.453 ♪ Sometimes I feel ♪ 0:52:23.409,0:52:25.580 Only three decades[br]earlier, the end of slavery 0:52:25.580,0:52:29.050 had been the promise of a[br]new day for black Americans, 0:52:29.050,0:52:30.740 in which they could earn their livelihood 0:52:30.740,0:52:33.540 by their own freely chosen labor. 0:52:33.540,0:52:35.030 Educate their children, 0:52:35.030,0:52:36.260 participate in government, 0:52:36.260,0:52:38.723 and receive equal justice under the law. 0:52:40.230,0:52:42.563 But despite the remarkable advances, 0:52:43.922,0:52:45.790 those hopes were now dashed. 0:52:45.790,0:52:48.020 Jim Crow was the law of the land, 0:52:48.020,0:52:49.303 north and south. 0:52:50.642,0:52:52.742 And so it would remain for half a century. 0:52:53.661,0:52:56.860 Abandoned by the north,[br]without allies in the south, 0:52:56.860,0:52:59.323 blacks continued to[br]struggle for their freedom, 0:53:00.190,0:53:03.560 relying on their families,[br]churches, schools, 0:53:03.560,0:53:05.713 and other organizations to sustain them. 0:53:07.616,0:53:11.220 For black Americans, no time[br]since the end of slavery 0:53:11.220,0:53:12.583 seemed so dark. 0:53:18.640,0:53:20.973 ♪ From home ♪ 0:53:28.660,0:53:30.910 - [Man] The tragic era[br]of Jim Crow comes to life 0:53:30.910,0:53:33.600 at PBS Online, with interactive activities 0:53:33.600,0:53:34.860 and firsthand accounts. 0:53:34.860,0:53:37.060 Find details on key[br]people, events, and more 0:53:38.075,0:53:38.908 at PBS.org. 0:54:21.157,0:54:23.740 (upbeat music) 0:54:24.652,0:54:28.080 Major funding for The[br]Rise and Fall of Jim Crow 0:54:28.080,0:54:32.400 is provided by the National[br]Endowment for the Humanities, 0:54:32.400,0:54:37.400 expanding America's understanding[br]for more than 30 years 0:54:37.470,0:54:42.403 of who we were, who we[br]are, and who we will be. 0:54:45.420,0:54:49.120 And by support from the Corporation[br]for Public Broadcasting, 0:54:49.120,0:54:52.893 a private corporation funded[br]by the American people. 0:54:57.821,0:54:59.580 Additional funding is provided by 0:54:59.580,0:55:03.113 the John D. And Catherine[br]T. MacArthur Foundation. 0:55:07.567,0:55:10.200 Corporate support is made[br]possible by New York Life. 0:55:10.200,0:55:12.640 - [Woman] Today should[br]be better than yesterday. 0:55:12.640,0:55:14.680 Tomorrow should be even greater. 0:55:14.680,0:55:17.080 This idea inspired a movement, 0:55:17.080,0:55:20.330 and New York Life salutes[br]the vision and bravery 0:55:20.330,0:55:22.953 of those who improved our[br]nation, and our world.