Historical events can be looked at from different perspectives, depending on the source of the information.I read two different sources that each provided different information regarding the origin of the term Jim Crow.The first site, Duckers, a popular educational website briefly mentions that the name “Jim Crow” came from a song back in 1832. Whereas the second site, Blackpast told the whole origin story of the word including who started using it, when they started using it, and why they started using it. So you can see they are two very different websites.

Based on the information I read I think that the origin of the word came from Thomas Dartmouth Rice when he performed a song called Jump Jim Crow. Where he imitated an older disabled black man that he had met. The song became very popular and many white people referred to black men as Jim Crow from then on.

The other thing that I learned about from these two sources were what the Jim Crow laws actually were. From reading both articles more then once I came to the understanding that the  Jim Crow laws were laws that enforced racial segregation in the south between 1877 and the 1950’s.

Finally the last thing I learned is what the black code laws were. The Black Crow laws denied African Americans the right to vote, hold jobs, and get an education. Meaning they were similar to the Jim crow laws in a lot of ways.

I think that I learned a lot from this mostly because I used two articles. They both had something different to say that was important. If I had only used the the first one I would have not known the  the origin of the name “Jim Crow”. But If i had only used the second one I wouldn’t know what the Jim Crow laws were. So both of them were equally helpful and educating.

How would one write history? It’s a good question,but it’s not as easy as that. Anybody can write history however most people cannot present it in a way that is accurate, you see usually when people write history they write from one perspective usually this perspective is the  “winners” in the situation. If you think about it  you never really see the other side. Therefore we can write almost anything from any point of view but nobody can determine that it’s right without the other point of view being heard as well.

But like I said it’s not that easy. There is a lot of work put into writing history, you need to from various sources and interviews so you are not getting only one perspective. When historians are lacking written sources they have to resort to interviews. Whether it is an eye witness, a family member of the person involved, or an expert on the topic.

But I don’t write history so how would I know all of this. Well today I read an article by Annette Gordon-Reed called How I Became A Historian. It’s about how Annette learned how to write history and become a historian. After reading I was inspired. I admire that Annette never wanted to stop learning. Even after becoming a lawyer she still was curious and ready to expand on what she already knew. I think one way I can learn from her is that it’s never too late to start learning.

When we read history we often aren’t aware that most of the things we are reading are either misunderstandings or purposefully toned down, especially in school. This may sound weird because school is where we come to learn facts not myths. But the reason behind this is actually quite simple. When reviewing a sensitive topic such as slavery in America teachers downplay the facts so nobody feels uncomfortable or shamed. History professor Hasan Kwame Jeffries refers to it as ” a sanitized version of history”. Meaning that it’s a little less extreme than what actually happened. In result we learn some things that are not true or as some like to call it myths.

The first myth that I read was about The Civil War. The myth was that it began over the states wanting certain rights when in reality it was because the south wanted to preserve slavery and break away from the U.S. I knew that the myth was wrong we were taught in school about The Civil War.

The second is a myth I was not aware of. I was always taught in school that slaves were forced into working for wealthy white men with no pay whereas this myth says that they were paid workers, which obviously is not true.

The next myth is something I also knew was untrue. The myth was more of a misunderstanding than a myth. You see when schools cover the topic of slavery they focus mostly on The Civil War which can lead student to believe there was only slavery in the south but as a matter of fact there was slavery in all of the colonies but the north abolished it much earlier then the south.

The fourth and final myth is completely untrue and I knew that too. This myth states that slavery was “not that bad”. When in reality slavery was brutal on many levels. Slaves were beaten harshly and often separated from their families. They used this myth in the classroom to make sure the kids didn’t think any less of the figures in our history who owned slaves.

If I was able to correct this I would start with abolishing these myths. It’s not only important for kids to know the truth but for grownups too. We need to learn that slavery was not okay and that it cannot be watered down. We cannot change what already happened but we can change the way that we look at it and teach others in the future.