African Americans in the 1950s

Question 1

Were the Jim Crow still present in the 1950s?

Answer 1

Yes

Question 2

Why didn’t African Americans vote in the 1950s and 1960s?

Answer 2

❖They had to pay a poll tax, which few African Americans could afford.
❖They had to pass a literacy test of 40 words which was deliberately made very difficult. White Americans did not have to take the literacy test.

Question 3

What did the Jim Crow Laws mean?

Answer 3

African Americans had to attend separate schools and separate areas in places such as restaurants, cinemas, libraries and parks.

Question 4

Why was segregation an embarrassment to the USA during the Cold war in the 1950s, highlighting the US as hypocritical?

Answer 4

During the Cold War, the USA proclaimed itself as the leading nation of the free world. However, in reality, its black citizens were being treated dreadfully.

Question 5

What were some of the most racist states?

Answer 5

Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi