Jim Crow Etiquette

Jim Crow Etiquette

•A Black male could not offer his hand to a White male (to shake hands) because it implied being socially equal. A Black male could not offer his hand to or have any physical contact with a White woman, because he risked being accused of rape.

•Under no circumstance was a Black male to offer to light the cigarette of a White female -- that gesture implied intimacy.

•Blacks were not allowed to show public affection toward one another in public.

•Whites did not use courtesy titles of respect when referring to Blacks (i.e. Mr., Mrs., Sir, or Ma'am). Instead, Blacks were called by their first names. Blacks, however, had to use courtesy titles when referring to Whites and were not allowed to call them by their first names.

•People of different races were prohibited from sitting side by side when traveling (i.e. on buses and trains) and white motorists had the right-of-way at all intersections.

•Blacks were to never: disagree with or challenge a white person; assert or even intimate that a white person lied; curse at or laugh at a white person; comment on the appearance of a white female; or demonstrate superior knowledge or intelligence.