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“These codes required blacks to demonstrate their subordination and supposedly natural inferiority, while whites demonstrate white supremacy” (Ritterhouse 52)

The idea of white supremacy and black inferiority became the basis of all social etiquette for southern African Americans during the 1960’s

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“‘It is a southern custom that all men must take off their hats when they enter an elevator,’ Wright explained. ‘And especially did this apply to us blacks with rigid force’” (Wright qtd. in Ritterhouse 51).

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Whites are superior to all Blacks in:

Intelligence

Education

Stature

Morality

Civil behavior

Financial Status

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This source offers wonderful lists of black expectations and laws in the south during the 1960’s

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“For a second they stared at the juice (spit), dribbled like car oil across their shoes. They blinked, trying to make it register” (Kidd 32).

Rosaleen, on her way to register to vote right after president Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, encountered a group of white men. They began harassing her verbally and Rosaleen is very strong willed and refuses to put up with it so she pours her spit across their shoes.

“When they looked up, I watched their faces go from surprise to anger, then outright fury. They lunged at her, and everything started to spin” (Kidd 32).

This was an example of Rosaleen not following “proper” social etiquette, therefore the white men retaliate using violence, and in the end they don’t get any punishment for their actions.

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Woman’s Actions Dictates Her Husband’s Social Stature

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Woman’s Actions Dictates Her Husband’s Social Stature

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1. Does she dress nicely?

2. Is she well-groomed?

3. How does she comply to men in her life?

4. Does she care for children?

5. Is she a good homemaker?

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Back in the mid 1900’s when a woman failed to comply to the demands of a man, they would often be arrested or killed; especially when a colored woman failed to listen to a white man.

The most famously known noncompliance between a colored woman and white male would be Rosa Parks on the bus in 1955. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a bus to a white man. This led to her arrest for “violation of the city’s racial segregation laws,” which led to Parks being jailed. This created a boycott of public transportation for over a year and was a spark for the civil rights movement.

“The mother of the civil rights movement”

This is a parallel to when Rosaleen was confronted by racist white men on her way to vote in Independence Day.

“Rosaleen lifted her snuff jug, which was filled with black spit, and calmly poured it across the top of the men’s shoes” (Kidd 32).

This led to the men physically assaulting her and calling the police. This scene ended with Rosaleen in jail from “assaulting” the white men.

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Financial Disparities in White vs. Colored Men

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Financial Disparities in White vs. Colored Men

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For many decades it is reported that white men make significantly more money than white men. This graph shows the racial gap in financial status from the mid 1900’s to more recent years. Due to this gap, white men were considered “superior” to black men.

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Common Etiquette of Children in the South

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Common Etiquette of Children in the South

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Help around the house

Help with father’s work/business

Go to school (mainly white children)

Be seen and not heard

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1. Creates a sense of structure in society.

2. Allows for everyone to be held to a similar degree (if everyone had the same expectations- no concern for gender or race).

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1. Creates social classes.
2. Polarizes communities by differences.
3. Creates a mold for citizens to fit into, which equals a lack of individuality.
4. The society immediately creates an unrealistic pressure unto its society.
5. Creates lack of ambition and motivation in “lower” classes

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The disparity in education between black and white children is great, their facilities and duration of education show the racial differences.

I’m The Secret Life of Bees, the disparity in education is seen between Zach and Lily, even though attending school was apart of their daily lives. In a conversation between Zach and Lily, they talk about their shortcomings and how it may impact their future, Zach says:

“I don’t know if I’ll have much of a future either,” while Lily responds with “Why not? You’re not an orphan. No, he said. I’m a negro” (Kidd 120).

After Lily says how now that she’s run away from home she cannot become an English teacher, Zach confesses he most likely will never become a lawyer because he is colored.

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Most colored men in this time period worked menial, low-level jobs for little pay as they had a limited education. Most colored men, if they were allowed to finish high school never went on to university like white men did, so they never could fulfill their dream job.
In The Secret Life of Bees Zach had aspirations to be a lawyer, but due to his race, that goal seemed unattainable. This was very common for black men during this time period.

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In the mid 1900’s there were very strict rules on interracial relationships, so when Zach and Lily were spotted together at the movie theater, he was immediately arrested.

“I heard Zach’s name. I heard Mr. Forrest say the word “jail.” I guessed that Zach had called him with his one phone call, and here he was, breaking the news“ (Kidd 180).

This novel is set in 1964, so at the time interracial marriage was illegal, and interracial relationships were treated very similarly. Loving vs. Virginia in 1967 was the court case that legalized interracial marriage in the United States.

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This case goes all the way back to the 1691. At that time, the colony of Virginia said people of different races could not get married. Restrictions against interracial marriage remained in effect well into the 20th century.

The restrictions did not prevent two Virginians, named Richard and Mildred, from falling in love. Richard's family was white. Mildred's was a mix. In 1958, Richard and Mildred went to Washington, D.C. Interracial marriage was legal there, and the couple wed. Then, they returned to the small town in Virginia where they lived.

Five weeks later, police came into their house in the middle of the night and took them to jail. Richard and Mildred were ordered to leave Virginia.

The couple settled in Washington, D.C., and had three children. But they missed their friends, family and home. So they took their case to the Supreme Court.

Richard's argument was simple. He said, "I love my wife, and it is just unfair that I can't live with her in Virginia."

The justices all agreed. They struck down laws banning interracial marriage, saying the U.S. Constitution permitted individuals, not the state, to decide whom to marry.

By the way, the couple's last name? Loving. The case is known as Loving versus Virginia.
Kelly Jean Kelly wrote this story for Learning English. George Grow was the editor.
Quiz

Words in This Story

interracial - adj. involving people of different races

versus - prep. used to indicate the two groups that are opposed to each other in a legal case​

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Mixed-Race Marriage Illegal in the US Until 1967

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This case goes all the way back to the 1691. At that time, the colony of Virginia said people of different races could not get married. Such restrictions remained in effect well into the 20th century. The restrictions did not prevent two Virginians, named Richard and Mildred, from falling in love.

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Colored Males and White Females - Dif. Race

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Colored Males and White Females - Dif. Race

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Absolutely no intersexual relations between a person of color and a white person

Creates a hybrid monster that could take over the U.S.

A colored man could not even offer his hand (to shake) to a women for the risk of being accused of rape.

Could not offer a light of a cigarette - implies intimacy.

Never comment upon the appearance of a white female.

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How America Outlawed Interracial Marriage | The History of White People in America

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Never claim a white person is lying

Never direct a curse toward a white person

Never demonstrate superior knowledge to a white person

Blacks introduced to whites

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This picture really highlights how proper and well groomed women were expected to be in the south. Appearance was very heavily stressed throughout southern society in the 1960’s

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