From Jim Crow to Juan Crow: Alabama's Civil Rights Legacy

[struggle4progress]

Paul Kleyman

Last week the Water Works -- in the ironically named community of Allgood, Ala. -- informed local residents that they must now present a valid driver’s license or ID. Otherwise, the notice threatened, “You may lose water service." ...

Last week’s eager decision on the Water Works by the Allgood mayor streamed from the unexpected ruling by U.S. District Judge Sharon Lovelace Blackburn in Birmingham. Although she nullified much of Alabama’s new anti-immigrant law, she left intact clauses that authorize police to demand “papers” showing citizenship or immigration status, such as during traffic stops, and denying the parched but undocumented so much as a tap of water ...

In the early morning light, I felt the bus pull into a gas station. Drowsy at first, I took in the station’s homespun blue-and-white paint job. Then I found myself wide awake at a sight I'd only read about until that moment.

Two water fountains were marked "For Whites" and "Colored." ...

http://www.nationofchange.org/jim-crow-juan-crow-alabamas-civil-rights-legacy-1318517553