Definition

1. Noun:
   • A system of laws and practices enforcing racial segregation and discrimination against African Americans: "Jim Crow" refers specifically to the state and local laws enacted primarily in the Southern United States between the late 19th and mid-20th centuries that mandated racial segregation in public facilities and services.
   • A crowbar fitted with a claw for pulling nails: In a specific, non-racial context, "jim crow" (often lowercase) can be a tool name for a type of crowbar.

Usage

• The term "Jim Crow" is used historically and academically to describe the period and system of legalized racial apartheid in the United States. It is a proper noun and is typically capitalized. The tool definition is a separate, specialized, and less common usage.

Examples

• Noun (Racial Segregation System):
  • The Jim Crow laws made it illegal for Black and white people to use the same water fountains.
  • She grew up in the South during the era of Jim Crow.
• Noun (Tool):
  • The worker used a jim crow to pry open the crate and pull out the old nails.

Advanced Usage

• "Jim Crow era": The historical period when Jim Crow laws were in effect, roughly from the 1870s to the 1960s.
  • Many veterans of World War II returned home to the injustices of the Jim Crow era.
• "Jim Crow justice": Refers to a legal system biased against African Americans under segregation.
  • The trial was a clear example of Jim Crow justice.

Variants and Related Words

• Jim Crowism (noun): The practice or policy of segregating or discriminating against Black people, synonymous with the system itself.
  • He was a vocal opponent of Jim Crowism.
• Jim-crow (adjective, often hyphenated): Pertaining to or characteristic of the Jim Crow system.
  • They were forced to ride in the jim-crow section of the train.

Synonyms

• Racial segregation: The enforced separation of racial groups.
• Apartheid: A policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race (originally specific to South Africa, used analogously).

Related Phrases

• "Jim Crow car": A segregated railroad car for African Americans.
  • Before the civil rights movement, he could only travel in the Jim Crow car.
• "Jim Crow South": The geographic region of the United States where Jim Crow laws were most rigorously enforced.
  • The struggle for voting rights was fiercest in the Jim Crow South.

Notes

• The term originates from a 19th-century minstrel show character, "Jim Crow," a stereotypical portrayal of a Black man, which later became associated with the segregation laws. Its use today is almost exclusively historical or analytical. The tool meaning is unrelated and derives from a different etymology.

Noun

1. a crowbar fitted with a claw for pulling nails
2. barrier preventing blacks from participating in various activities with whites