America 1920-1973Introduction
What Was Life Like Under Segregation?
Part of Segregation — GCSE History
This introduction covers What Was Life Like Under Segregation? within Segregation for GCSE History. Revise Segregation in America 1920-1973 for GCSE History with 10 exam-style questions and 3 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 1 of 9 in this topic. Use this introduction to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 1 of 9
Practice
10 questions
Recall
3 flashcards
📖 What Was Life Like Under Segregation?
Imagine living in a country where your skin colour determined which water fountain you could drink from, which door you entered a building through, which schools your children attended, and whether you could vote. This was reality for Black Americans in the South until the 1960s. "Jim Crow" laws enforced strict separation of races in every aspect of life. The 1896 Supreme Court case Plessy v Ferguson had ruled this was legal as long as facilities were "separate but equal" — but they were never equal.