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USING THE MOVIE Helpful Background: In the Southern United States, before the 1960s, blacks were segregated from whites. Not only did blacks live in different areas than whites, but by law they were not permitted to go to the same schools, sit in the same part of the courthouse, eat in the same restaurants, use the same public rest rooms or drink at the same water fountains. These laws were unconstitutional and have now been …

…the Civil War, lynching by white mobs became a favorite method of intimidating blacks. Beginning in 1886 more blacks than whites were lynched. Since 1882, when records began to be kept, more than 4700 people have been lynched in the United States. The largest number in any single year was 230 in 1892. Civil rights workers in the South in the 1950's and 1960's were sometimes lynched. Lynching has now been effectively suppressed by law enforcement officials and public disapproval.