Jim Crow Primary Sources

Jim Crow Primary Sources

Historical documents. What clues can you gather about the time, place, players, and culture?

Lynching Statistics

View these staggering lynching statistics, listed by state and race and covering the years spanning from 1882 to 1968.

On the Lynching of Ed Johnson

A sermon delivered by Dr. Howard E. Jones, a white reverend, to his white congregation following the lynching murder of Ed Johnson, a Black man accused of rape.

The Clansman

Full text of Thomas Dixon's novel The Clansman, along with illustrations, and a biography of the author.

W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk

The full text of W. E. B. Du Bois' civil rights manifesto, The Souls of Black Folk.

Booker T. Washington, Up from Slavery

The full text of Booker T. Washington's autobiography, Up from Slavery.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett, "Mob Rule in New Orleans"

This is an essay written by Ida B. Wells-Barnett in 1900.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett, "A Red Record"

Here's an essay written by Ida B. Wells-Barnett in 1895.

Charles Chesnutt, "The Wife of His Youth"

This page includes a series of essays by Charles W. Chesnutt, a prominent Black author and activist.

Henry McNeal Turner's Protest

Bishop Henry McNeal Turner's statement in protest of the Supreme Court ruling in The Civil Rights Cases of 1883.

Mrs. J. H. Adams' Request

Letter from Mrs. J. H. Adams, Macon, Georgia to the Bethlehem Baptist Association, Chicago, Illinois, April 1918.

Mr. Cleveland Galliard's Request

Letter from Cleveland Galliard of Mobile, Alabama to the Bethlehem Baptist Association, Chicago, Illinois, April 1917.