Chris Layne Professor Madar US. History 122.01New Chapter in American HistoryImagine living in a world in which you are harassed and mistreated simply because of the color of your skin. Since the beginning of America's existence, white people have harbored a strong hatred towards the black population. White people wanted to continue to have power and control. To achieve this, white southerners invented Jim Crow laws to prevent African Americans from realizing their God-given right to be free and equal. This did not end Africans' hope of becoming equal. After many years of mistreatment, African Americans knew that societal change was necessary. Members of the black population were enslaved, beaten, abused, neglected and exploited. Since the end of the Civil War, even to the present day, African Americans have fought for equality and rights that white Americans often take for granted. Arguably no postwar struggle was greater or more significant than the movement to eliminate Jim Crow laws from existence in the South. As an important part of the civil rights movement, numerous works have been written about the efforts and the resulting results, including "Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka,” “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” “Black Revolution,” “Bigger Than a Hamburger,” and Rosa Parks’ Law. In 1896, the government passed a law legally permitting racial discrimination. Called the landmark case "Plessy v. Ferguson," it ruled that this type of discrimination did not violate the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, as long as the facilities were equal. However, these facilities were by no means equal. So African America... middle of paper ... have this "destined date for freedom", when they can stand with their brothers and sisters and be first class citizens and end it racial discrimination for the whole world. From the beginning of America until after the Jim Crow era, African Americans were humiliated, viewed as inferior, and denied basic rights. However, even with this treatment, African Americans did not give up or lose hope. They were beaten and imprisoned for their beliefs, as the above sources show, but they continued to fight for racial integration and to stand up and defend themselves and equality. After approximately one hundred years of mistreatment and denial of their basic human and civil rights, African Americans defeated the laws imposed on them and overcame the tragedies of the Jim Crow era..