What Were Segregation and "Jim Crow" Laws?

Following the end of the Civil War, new laws and customs regarding race relations were adopted by many of the United States. In the South, the segregation of whites and blacks was commonplace—and legal. The laws allowing segregation were known as Jim Crow laws. 

Public and private facilities like schools, bus stations, bathrooms, and movie theaters were segregated. Even water fountains were labeled "Whites Only" or "Blacks Only." This practice of segregation was allowed as long as the facilities were “separate but equal.” But these places were not equal, and conditions were far worse for those designated for African Americans.