Pervasive Jim Crow Apartheid System in Public Life

Throughout the South in the 1920s and 1930s, segregation by law covered virtually all aspects of public life: separate water fountains, waiting rooms, restaurants, theaters, parks, beaches, hospitals, cemeteries, schools, jails, courtrooms (with separate Bibles for oath-taking), and even telephone booths. Beyond legal segregation, 'sundown towns', communities where Black people faced arrest or violence if found after dark, existed throughout the North and Midwest. The Green Book, first published in 1936 by Victor Green, was a travel guide to establishments Black motorists could safely visit, reflecting the nationwide character of racial apartheid.