Jim Crow

American  

Or jim crow

noun

1. a practice or policy of segregating or discriminating against Black people, as in public places, public vehicles, or employment.

2. Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a Black person.

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adjective

1. favoring or supporting a segregationist or discriminatory policy of Jim Crow.

2. for Black people only.

   a Jim Crow school.

jim crow British  

/ ˈdʒɪm ˈkrəʊ /

noun

1. 1. the policy or practice of segregating Black people

   2. ( as modifier )

      jim-crow laws

2. 1. a derogatory term for a Black person

   2. ( as modifier )

      a jim-crow saloon

3. an implement for bending iron bars or rails

4. a crowbar fitted with a claw

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Jim Crow Cultural  

1. A descriptive term for the segregation of institutions, businesses, hotels, restaurants, and the like. It also refers to the laws that required racial segregation.

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Other Word Forms

• jim-crowism noun

Etymology

Origin of Jim Crow

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40; so called from the name of a song sung by Thomas Rice (1808–60) in a minstrel show

Example Sentences

Mr. Robinson grew up in what he described as the “domestic apartheid system” of the Jim Crow South, recalling that he had not a single White classmate until he was accepted at Harvard Law School.

From Washington Post

Beyond that lies the legacy of Jim Crow, in the making and enforcing of laws.

From New York Times

He pointed to his grandfather who “believed in the goodness of what America would one day be” despite the discrimination of Jim Crow.

From Washington Post

And I'm somewhat certain he agrees that legally enforced Jim Crow racial discrimination in the U.S.

From Salon

Bell compared Adams’s views to the Jim Crow era and more recent examples of White supremacy, including “millions of angry people trying to redefine the word ‘racism’ itself.”

From Washington Post