After The Reconstruction

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theaters was prohibited. The end of Reconstruction did not help much in giving African-Americans real freedom because in 1883 the Supreme Court ruled in the Civil Rights Act was invalid because it addressed social as opposed to civil rights. Additionally, the Court noted that the Fourteenth Amendment protected people against violations of their civil rights by states, not by the actions of individuals (for example, when the owner of a hotel refused to rent a room to an African-American). Segregated facilities, whether schools or public transportation, were rarely equal. Legalized segregation also reinforced the notions of white racial superiority and African-American inferiority, creating an atmosphere that encouraged violence, and deaths of blacks rose significantly. Despite these obvious problems, the concept of separate but equal was not vetoed by the Supreme Court until 1954. So, in one turn after another, African-Americans still coped badly before Reconstruction, and especially ...

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