What Were The Jim Crow Law

Ala. churches lead opposition to immigration law

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — For some believers and church leaders, opposing Alabama's toughest-in-the-nation law against illegal immigration is a chance for Bible Belt redemption.

During the civil rights movement of the 1950s and '60s, many state churches didn't join the fight to end Jim Crow laws and racial segregation. Some cross-burning Ku Klux Klan members took off their hoods and sat in the pews with everyone else on Sunday mornings, and relatively few white congregations actively opposed segregation. Some black churches were hesitant to get involved for fear of white backlash.

Now that Alabama has passed what's widely considered the nation's most restrictive state law against illegal immigration, mainstream churches, faith-based organizations and individual members are leading opposition to the act. Some see their involvement as a way to avoid repeating mistakes of the past.

"I think what happened in the '60s may be a stimulus for the action that you have seen many of the churches taking on this," said Chriss H. Doss, an attorney and ordained Southern Baptist minister.

Matt Lacey, pastor of a United Methodist church once attended by Birmingham's infamous segregationist police commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor, said there are all sorts of reasons Alabama Christians are opposed to the law. Making amends for the past inaction of religious groups is among them, he said.

"For me, as pastor of a church that was engaged in that battle, it is very important," said Lacey. "If we take redemption very seriously, then it not only covers our sins but our past actions as a church. I think for some, there is a tendency to want to be on the side of right on this issue. ... I would like to think the church just wants to do what's right."

At 56, the Rev. Al Garrett is old enough to recall some faith communities sitting on the sidelines during the civil rights movement. Garrett, who helped organize a prayer rally that drew a few hundred people Sunday night in Huntsville, said the difference now is uplifting.

"I've thanked God that I've been here to see the way people of faith are taking a stand on this," he said.

After a prayer for wisdom, members of the Birmingham City Council recently passed a unanimous resolution calling for the repeal of the law. That same day, ministers and lay people gathered to discuss opposition to the law in the same church where, more than 50 years ago, white segregationists gathered to form a group to oppose white and black children going to school together.

America Revealed: Are New Voter ID Laws Jim Crow By Another Name?

Few moments in our country's history can be compared to the dark and violent years of the Jim Crow era. During this ominous and shameful period, individuals and states made great efforts to deny African-Americans access to newfound constitutional rights, racial segregation was the norm and courts gave legal sanction to the principle of "separate but equal." Critics have attacked the former president for making a comparison between the legislative efforts of today and the Jim Crow days of the past. However, the ire of critics is both misplaced and misguided. Clinton's effort to establish a parallel between the laws now being proposed to make voting more difficult and the efforts used during the Jim Crow era was intended to sound an alarm about The legislative efforts unfolding around the country include the adoption of mandatory government-issued photo id laws as a prerequisite to casting a ballot, proof of citizenship requirements for new voters, reductions in the hours for early voting and burdens imposed on those seeking to conduct voter registration drives. Collectively, these laws represent For decades, blacks were denied access to the ballot box by a sophisticated matrix of Jim Crow restrictions that imposed burdensome hurdles and barriers that made voting difficult if not impossible. For example, literacy tests were written and administered in such a way that few whites failed, while blacks with college educations were routinely rejected. Understanding tests locked black voters out by requiring that anyone seeking to register to vote be able to read and write any article of the Constitution. In few instances are legislators able to present any empirical evidence showing that the burdens imposed by the laws are justifiable or reasonable. The party line presented by those proposing the laws are that they are necessary to preserve the integrity of the electoral process and to prevent fraud and voter impersonation at the polls. However, there is Instead, what the evidence shows is a clear and undeniable racial impact. For instance, we know that there are many individuals who do not possess government-issued photo id such as driver's licenses and passports and that the burden associated with obtaining such an id may ultimately deter many from registering. To illustrate, the state of Indiana adopted a photo id law in the face of evidence that 13 percent of registered voters lacked the requisite id.

The strange career of Jim Crow

CliffsNotes on Lee's To kill a mockingbird

Life under the Jim Crow laws

Jumpin' Jim Crow, southern politics from Civil War to civil rights

The Jim Crow Laws and Racism in American History