Analysis of Jim Crow

John Biggs

Professor Fennely

English 1101

Critique of “ The Ethics of Living Jim Crow”

Author Benjamin Mays wrote "In this perilous world, if a Black boy wanted to live a halfway normal life and die a natural death he had to learn early the art of how to get along with White folks" (Mays 22). Richard Wright tells of a similar experience in his 1937 essay “The ethics of Living Jim Crow: An Autobiographical sketch”. Born in 1908 in Roxie, Mississippi, Wright grew up amidst extreme violence and discrimination towards Blacks. The main force in perpetuating this oppression was the institution of Jim Crow laws. Jim Crow laws started after the abolishment of slavery to limit the freedom of former slaves. Governed by the idea of “separate but equal”, the practices and policies of Black segregation throughout the US bolstered White supremacy and ensured a low social status for Blacks. In “The Ethics of Living Jim Crow”, Wright does not detail the specifics of Jim Crow Laws, instead he portrays the effects of a life lived under them. Wright’s childhood narrative illustrates a culture of White dominance, where Blacks experience an inferior status as default. Ultimately, the violence conducted by Whites forces Blacks to maintain their inferior position, and in turn, Blacks insist other Blacks to remain subordinate.

In “The ethics of Jim Crow” Wright details various experiences from his childhood and work-life to demonstrate the principles of living within the Jim Crow system. Wright wants the reader to know that he had to learn to live as a Black man in the times of Jim Crow. While Very young, Wright’s mother teaches him to assume the submissive role of a Negro in a White world in order to avoid violence. In this early recollection, Wright details an incident in which his gang and he engage in a play-war with a group of White children. This seemingly innocent fight turns brutal when the group of White children hurls broken bottles at Wright and his...