Who
The Black Codes were legislative measures enacted by Southern states that had previously been part of the Confederacy following the conclusion of the Civil War. Therefore, in answering the ‘who,’ the introduction of Black Codes was done by the Southern States. These laws were designed to curtail the civil liberties and privileges of individuals of African descent. Exum (2021) confirms that “during President Andrew Johnson’s administration, Southern state legislatures passed Black Codes” (p. 1688).
What
For the ‘what’ question, the Black Code Laws of Southern states banned African American children from learning reading, writing, and computers.
In 2019, United States (US) Supreme Court Judge Ginsburg described the Black Codes as laws created by former Confederate states to enslave African Americans by imposing enormous penalties for minor violations (Bartz & Kritsonis, 2019).
Where and When
Bartz and Kritsonis state that after the Civil War, former Confederate states in the South implemented Black Codes; Mississippi was the first to enact it in the 1865 fall. Therefore, the information provided answers the question of ‘where’ and ‘when.’
How
Concerning ‘how,’ the Black Codes were executed by suppressing black people. Black Codes typically resulted in forced labor or exorbitant punishments for minor infractions. Black people were given the option of working for white people or going hungry. African Americans were targeted by a system of penalties and forced labor designed to bring them back to near-slavery conditions. Exum (2021) supports this by holding that “the Black Codes—those Blacks who did not comply could be arrested, subjected to impossible-to-pay fines, and forced into unpaid labor on plantations” (p. 1707).
The purpose of the Black Codes was to retain control and domination over African Americans by denying them fundamental liberties and ensuring that their subjection would continue indefinitely. During the 1790s, Thomas Jefferson implemented a policy requiring African American boys at 10 years to work at nail factories (Bartz & Kritsonis, 2019). When a child’s productivity failed to meet a pre-established threshold, corporal punishment was employed as a means of motivation to enhance productivity.
Why
On ‘why,’ the Black Codes were a set of laws that were applied to constrain the liberties of African Americans and guarantee their accessibility as an inexpensive workforce. These Black Codes were put in place to ensure maximum control, manipulation, and oppression of African Americans, even acquiring basic skills (Bartz & Kritsonis, 2019).
Significance of the Concept
Regarding ‘significance,’ despite the end of slavery, these repressive laws showed Southern racism and unwillingness to reform. The Black Codes helped create the Jim Crow period, which cemented racial segregation and discrimination in the US. Through these harsh experiences, it is easier to learn that the US underwent social inequity, a mistake that it should not repeat in this era.
References
Bartz, D. E., & Kritsonis, W. A. (2019). Racism, the white power structure, and the tragic history of the education of African American children in the United States. Schooling, 10(1), 1-9. Web.
Exum, J. J. (2021). Reconstruction sentencing: Reimagining drug sentencing in the aftermath of the war on drugs. American Criminal Law Review, 58, 1685-1714. Web.