Jim Crow Laws

The Jim Crow Laws were a series of laws that were based upon the principle of "separate but equal".  Starting in the Southern states in 1890, these laws spread mainly through the south for the better part of a century.  These laws were more prevalent in the southern states due to the Civil War.  The "separate but equal" idea was not always the case.  Schools were segregated, public places were segregated, including restaurants, restrooms, and drinking fountains.  The facilities for the African Americans were in worse condition, and usually did not work.  Following the Civil Rights movement of the 1960's, and court cases like Brown vs Board of Education, the Jim Crow Laws were put to an end by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Crow_laws