To those from the old south, describe life before Civil Rights Movement (sales, crime)

[Surftown831]

To those born before the Civil Rights Movement, what was it like living in the south? Was it as bad as the movies portray? Were people really jailed or killed for having interracial relationships? Was it really unheard of to see an interracial friendship? Did all the police really have it out for blacks and hate blacks? How common were lynchings?

Then, what was integration like? Did African-Americans immediately start using restaurants and transportation services or did they ease into it? Did white people refuse to go to restaurants that blacks would now attend? Did they tear down the 'whites only' signs in front of bathrooms and water fountains? If so, did white people refuse to use public bathrooms for a while?

How did this all go down? I was born long after this era and going to the south now I can't even imagine this type of world existed only 35 years ago.

[DeaconJ]

Originally Posted by UNLV09

To those born before the Civil Rights Movement, what was it like living in the south? Was it as bad as the movies portray? Were people really jailed or killed for having interracial relationships? Was it really unheard of to see an interracial friendship? Did all the police really have it out for blacks and hate blacks? How common were lynchings?

Then, what was integration like? Did African-Americans immediately start using restaurants and transportation services or did they ease into it? Did white people refuse to go to restaurants that blacks would now attend? Did they tear down the 'whites only' signs in front of bathrooms and water fountains? If so, did white people refuse to use public bathrooms for a while?

How did this all go down? I was born long after this era and going to the south now I can't even imagine this type of world existed only 35 years ago.

I'm not old enough to comment, but I do know there was rampant racism and discrimination throughout the entire U.S. - not just in the South. The problems were more sensationalized here, but they certainly existed everywhere.

[CMDallas]

^^^
Yes. It was all over the US. I remember my grandfather telling he came from China via Taiwan fleeing from the Communists.
He told me a story about how he had to take a bus to Case Western University in Ohio. He said that when they stopped for a restroom break the bathrooms were still segregated, and that he didn't know which one to go into... not exactly being white nor black.
He went into the Black restroom, where the black people kicked him out... then he went into the white restroom where he could take care of important bodily functions. He stayed clear from the South. Going from California to Ohio...not a southern state even close.

But I wouldn't know. I'm half Mexican and half Chinese. I've grown up pretty oblivious to racism. My Elementary School was literally half Asian, the rest was evenly divided between Hispanics, Blacks, and Whites. Pretty white collared neighborhood too, very unique situation.
My middle and high school were about 20% Asian, 40% Black, 20% Hispanic, and the rest were "white" (some of which were Arabs, which under the US census is considered "white"). They published an annual report with this information.
There have been people who talked "country"... but I don't recall any particular instance where Racism has been an issue.

I was born and raised in Dallas* ...although this is in the CITY, where things are more liberal. I have experience with the country too... things are not too bag out there, but people do notice your skin color more. I remember walking with my mother (who just happens to be a Doctor and be Mexican) when I was younger...through wal-mart, and having a sales clerk stalk us. My mom thought he was trying to prevent us from stealing anything (we were dress pretty poorly), but I didn't notice, my mother did.

My mothers story does involve more racism.
She was born in the US, but raised in Mexico. She moved here not speaking a lick of English at the age of 18 for college. They tried to deport her several times, even though she was a natural born US citizen. This was in El Paso, a little after the civil rights movement.
this is kind of ironic too. She had FAKE papers in Mexico (i.e. she was NOT a Mexican citizen, but had FAKE paper claiming she was). So she was technically living ILLGEALLY in MEXICO.

Although I cannot testify to the south prior to the civil rights movement, it was probably over dramatized.... that is not to say it was not racist, but just not to the extent the media makes it out to be. That's my guess though.

[GunnerTHB]

Dad tells me stories from back in the 50's when the family picked cotton in the Missouri Bootheel. He says that there were several blacks that worked on the plantation & he had some black friends. He doesn't remember a whole lot else however because he was pretty young so I guess what he has told me isn't much to draw a conclusion from.

[stillkit]

I can only speak about Oklahoma and Texas, where I grew up during the 50's, though I did do some traveling in the deep south as a child and young adult and our region wasn't all that dissimilar.

Originally Posted by UNLV09

To those born before the Civil Rights Movement, what was it like living in the south? Was it as bad as the movies portray? Were people really jailed or killed for having interracial relationships? Was it really unheard of to see an interracial friendship? Did all the police really have it out for blacks and hate blacks? How common were lynchings?

No, it wasn't as bad as the movies protray it and, yes, it was.

For one thing, most people didn't hate blacks in the sense that you mean. Some did, of course, but most simply accepted things the way they were without much question or animosity. And, that goes for both races. Drinking fountains and rest rooms were segregated everywhere, even at public facilities such as the courthouse and few thought much of it.

However, when that invisible racial line was crossed violence could occur, though it wasn't as common place as we're led to believe nor unique to the south.

For instance, a bi-racial couple might not be physically attacked, but they wouldn't be welcome anywhere either. They'd have trouble finding housing and jobs, they'd be shunned at the cash registers at local stores and generally be ostracized by both races. If they became beligerent or flaunted their relationship, bad things could happen.

While most businesses were open to anyone with the money, venues which required close, personal contact for long periods of time were strictly segregated. Seating at movie theaters, sporting events, fairs etc. were separate, but hardly equal. In my town, all 4 theaters retricted "coloreds" to the balcony and some even had separate lines at the ticket booth. They all had separate entrances for the races and cordoned off areas at the concession stand. Restuarants too had separate dining areas, with blacks unversially required to use the back door to get in. Very, very few hotels and motels admitted blacks.

And, no, the police didn't "hate" blacks either, nor did they go out of their way to harrass them any more than they do now. It was just a case of commonly accepted ideas about racial separation. No, a black could not usually get a fair trial, depending upon the crime committed and, yes, they were convicted at a much higher rate. It's hard to explain the mindset which led to that, but it wasn't a case of hatred, just common practice to distrust blacks.

However, if the crime involved sexual contact with white women, it could turn deadly in an instant as that was viewed as a heinous breach of the accepted social order. No, lynchings weren't all that common, but they did happen. For instance, right in my own county (Grayson County, Texas) a mob burned down the courthouse to get at a black man accused of raping a white woman in the 1930's. By the time I came along in 1949, opinions had moderated somewhat, but not all that much.

Then, what was integration like? Did African-Americans immediately start using restaurants and transportation services or did they ease into it? Did white people refuse to go to restaurants that blacks would now attend? Did they tear down the 'whites only' signs in front of bathrooms and water fountains? If so, did white people refuse to use public bathrooms for a while?

How did this all go down? I was born long after this era and going to the south now I can't even imagine this type of world existed only 35 years ago.

Yes, black people began going to restaurants and using public transportation immediately because the law said they could, though I'm sure it wasn't always a pleasant experience. It took time for attitudes to catch up with the law, a process still not completed for too many people. Some whites (and some blacks) initially declined to ride the bus or eat out, but that didn't last long.

Schools were not integrated all at the same time. It varied from place to place. For instance, my first 6 years of grade school was all white, while black children had a separate school up the tracks a couple of miles. This was in southern Oklahoma. In Texas, schools were not integrated until my first year of high school, 1963, and there were fears of Little Rock style violence, so it seemed every cop in the state was there that day to enforce order. However, nothing happened except a few harsh words.

The transition from a segregated to an integrated America was not easy and hard feelings were generated. Mostly, whites feared change, just as they do now in relation to the rising Hispanic population, but we overcame most of it and entered a new era in race relations. There was violence, a lot of it during the mid-60's in places like Watts, Detroit and Newark, but most people simply accepted the new reality and went on with their lives. It took awhile to get used to, though.

You also must understand that the Civil Rights movement did not exist in a vacuum. The 1960's was a turbulent time, a decade filled with angst and fear for everyone and it's impossible to separate out the effects of that movement from the effects of everything else going on then: The very real threat of nuclear annihilation during the Cuban Missle Crisis; political assassinations; rising opposition to a war which was bleeding us dry but not achieving anything; the counter-culture; revolutionary terrorist attacks; draft resistance; "Long hot summers" of racial violence in many, many cities, large and small.

The fears generated by racial integration were real, but not the only cause of violence and social upheaval during that time.

[Trimac20]

It'd be interesting to know to what extent the attitudes of older Southerners regarding race and race relations have mellowed out since the end of the Civil War.

[Surftown831]

@stillkit, Awesome answer. Thanks. I have another question though, were the penalties as severe for white men who raped black women? Or were crimes against blacks done by whites not taken very seriously? Also, do you think all of the black men convicted or lynched for raping a white woman were actually guilty? Or was there a lot of overreaction, exaggeration and hysteria that led to false accusations? Do you think that the reason blacks were happy about O.J. Simpson being found not guilty, even though they knew he did it, was because it was the first publicized example of the justice system working in favor of a black person who had committed a crime against a white person, instead of vice-versa?

[DubbleT]

Originally Posted by UNLV09

I was born long after this era and going to the south now I can't even imagine this type of world existed only 35 years ago.

More like 50 years ago. The civil rights movement got it's start in the late forties. I don't think there were many places still practicing Jim Crow in the 1970's.
My mom tells stories of growing up in Indiana in the forties and fifties. What she describes is very similar to what stillkit has to say.
Sundown town with blacks living in their own area, separate bathrooms, water fountains, restricted to the movie theater balconies, etc.
She also has some pretty bad stories about how white children would go 'across the tracks' and harass the black children, just for something to do when they were bored.
As this happened in Indiana it should be noted that this was not just a southern issue, it happened in many, many places.

[stillkit]

Originally Posted by UNLV09

@stillkit, Awesome answer. Thanks. I have another question though, were the penalties as severe for white men who raped black women?

No, generally not.

Or were crimes against blacks done by whites not taken very seriously?

Not usually, except in really egregious cases.

Also, do you think all of the black men convicted or lynched for raping a white woman were actually guilty? Or was there a lot of overreaction, exaggeration and hysteria that led to false accusations?

Yes, there was a lot of hysteria and false accustions. Heck, we can see the same thing right now in relation to illegal's. Any crime an illegal is accused of suddenly becomes a Cause Celebre' which is used to paint every Hispanic with the same broad brush. It's very similar to sex crimes involving black men and white women back then, except that no Hispanics have been lynched....yet.

Whether or not the victims were guilty, I can't say as they never got their day in court.

Do you think that the reason blacks were happy about O.J. Simpson being found not guilty, even though they knew he did it, was because it was the first publicized example of the justice system working in favor of a black person who had committed a crime against a white person, instead of vice-versa?

I really can't say about that either, though I suspect it has something to do with Simpson beating the system, with that idea being fed by charlatan's and camera wh--res like Jesse Jackson.

I do know, however, that glee at Simpson's acquital is far from universal within the black community. In fact, most black people I know feel the same way about as do most white people I know.

One should never generalize about a race of people, if for no other reason than that it was precisely those kinds of generalizations which led to segregation and resistance to integration.

[stillkit]

Originally Posted by Trimac20

It'd be interesting to know to what extent the attitudes of older Southerners regarding race and race relations have mellowed out since the end of the Civil War.

The Civil War ended 146 years ago. There aren't any "older" Southerner's left to ask.