Man Tom I hate to disagree with you after you gave this Dash such a glowing review, but I will. Well then again, I won't. So damn "wishy washy" I am this morning.

What I will say is that while you see the Jim Crow era as, "to be every bit as heinous as slavery." I see it as far worse than slavery and more heinous, and I'll explain why.

Up until the 13th Amendment slavery was "common practice" and people need to realize that the original slaves on this continent predate the the arrival of the twenty original black slaves that arrived in Jamestown in 1619. The "off scours" of Europe (white people) were sent here by the Crown to rid their homeland of their "less than desirable" members of society as slaves in the 1500's. (That is another part of history that isn't taught in the public education system or at least wasn't taught to me when I was in school.)
Now I'll get to my reasoning before I get sidetracked.

Passing those so call Jim Crow "laws" was in direct conflict with the Constitution at that point in time and should or could have been considered as a treasonous act. Treason carries the death penalty and back in the day death by hanging was the preferred method of execution of the death penalty. The only people being hanged were black folks and those were "mob lynchings". I am sure you can remember as well as I the reports of these lynchings even in the late 50's and early 60's.

Black men were portrayed by government officials as vicious barbaric animals and a threat to white women as rapists. (Instill fear in the people). Looking at a white woman in an admiring way could get a black man strung up from a tree and did.

I believe in the "law of the land"(common law) and slavery was accepted up until the 13th amendment, but it should have stopped at that point in time. Changing the name and rigging the game to continue on with the practice is far more heinous in my book once it was no longer acceptable practice.

So that is why I believe it to be far worse in my eyes.
I truly appreciate your point of view; I just see it as more severe. Thank you for all the support.
Sult