2 Chapter 1 Home in Alabama

Chapter 1 Home in Alabama Henry and Emma Owens were both the children of slaves who had lived in Alabama. By the time Henry and Emma married in 1896, slavery had ended, and African Americans were free throughout the United States. But life had not changed much for many black people.

After Henry and Emma married, they lived and worked on a large farm in rural Oakville, Alabama.

They did not own the farm. They were sharecroppers. That meant that they rented a small part of a larger farm from the owner. When the crops—mainly corn and cotton—were harvested, they received a share of the money from their sale. However, the farm's owner kept money for the Owenses' rent and for some of their food. After all that, the Owens family had very little money left.

Life was very difficult. Throughout the South, laws prevented black people from being treated equally and having all the opportunities that white people did. These laws were called "Jim Crow" laws. Henry and Emma had twelve children, three of whom died at birth. Three daughters—Ida, Josephine, and Lillie—survived. They were followed by six sons—Prentice, Johnson, Henry, Ernest, Quincy, and Sylvester.

JIM CROW LAWS AFTER THE SOUTHERN STATES LOST THE CIVIL WAR IN 1865, WHITE PEOPLE CONTINUED TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST BLACKS, WHO WERE NOW FREE. SOUTHERN STATES PASSED LAWS THAT KEPT BLACK PEOPLE APART FROM WHITES. THERE WERE HUNDREDS OF THESE LAWS. TOGETHER, THEY WERE KNOWN AS JIM CROW LAWS, NAMED AFTER A CHARACTER IN A STAGE SHOW. BLACK AND WHITE CHILDREN COULD NOT GO TO SCHOOL TOGETHER. BLACK PEOPLE COULD NOT EAT AT WHITE-OWNED HOTELS OR RESTAURANTS, OR EVEN USE PUBLIC SWIMMING POOLS. BUSES AND RAILROADS HAD SEPARATE SEATING AREAS FOR

BLACKS AND WHITES. THERE WERE EVEN SEPARATE DRINKING FOUNTAINS FOR BLACKS AND WHITES. SOME EIGHTY YEARS LATER, IN THE 1960S, THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT PUT AN END TO THESE LAWS.