Question

what is jim crow laws

Answer 1

The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws in the United States enacted between 1876 and 1965. They mandated de jure racial segregation in all public facilities in Southern states of the former Confederacy, with, starting in 1890, a "separate but equal" status for African Americans. The separation in practice led to conditions for African Americans that tended to be inferior to those provided for white Americans, systematizing a number of economic, educational and social disadvantages. De jure segregation mainly applied to the Southern United States. Northern segregation was generally de facto, with patterns of segregation in housing enforced by covenants, bank lending practices, and job discrimination, including discriminatory union practices for decades.

Answer 2

http://americanhistory.si.edu/brown/history/1-segregated/jim-crow.html

Answer 3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_crow_laws Here's way more on the subject!