I'm writing a book about a relationship between a Irish man and a Black girl in the south in the late 1800's

Question

I want them to fall in love in get married. But I want to know what were some JIm Crown Laws and Cajin surnames?

Rashad- You're so rude and ignorant

Answer 1

Jim Crow was actually a very stringent set of laws. It relicgated african americans to second class citizens. It made Whites superior and AA's well....second class in ALL ways here are some of the things African Americans COULDNT DO:
1. Shake hands with a caucasian that would have meant that they were on the same level as the caucasian.

2 African Americans couldnt show affection to other African Americans lest it offend a Caucasian person.

3. Caucasians were always Mr or MS so and so, African Americans were addressed only by their first name

4. White motorists had the right of way driving, and when driving in the car of Caucasian person, the African American had to either sit in the back seat or in the bed of the truck.

Of course there are LOTS more Jim Crow laws, you could just google it.

As for the Cajun thing...if you are talking about African Americans in Louisiana (of which I decend) they arent Cajun....the are called Creole. That is a mix of French and African American. Cajuns are decended from other parts. THey arent the same thing. Below are some Creole surnames, and some Cajun ones, I assume that you meant Creole but I have designated the difference.

Creole
Fontenot (said like Fon-ten-oh)
Almonester
Alpuente
Gallaud
Galvez
Hardy
Decoudreau
Delassize
Forneret
Boisseau
Campanel
Carriere
Adolphe

Cajun
Babineaux
Aucoin
Arsenault
Babin
Boucher
Breauz
Dubois
Gautreaux
Guidrey
Herbert (said like AY-bear)
Thibodeaux

Answer 2

I believe you're referring to the Jim Crow laws, which I know little about. You should be able to acquire good information by using an Internet search engine. Cajun surnames are often mingled with the French influence.

What bothers me is that you profess the desire to write a book when good grammatical skills are needed first. Examples shown in your question: It is an Irish man, not a Irish man. Secondly, the word black in your usage is not capitalized. Third, it is Cajun, not Cajin.

Interracial relationships are good sellers, provided you find the right literary agent. I'm not sure how realistic it would have been for a white man and a black woman getting married in the 1800s--regardless where they lived. Many cultural restrictions were in force on intermarriage of the races in that time period.

As you progress in your book concentrate heavily on your editing in the interim.

Answer 3

I don't think it is that common. Most of the names on your list are ones I never heard of. But it is getting less uncommon because we are getting to be more of an integrated society. I worked with a guy who's wife is black. Our best friend's son married a black girl. And there were two biracial (black woman, white man) couples at the Tea Party I went to in April. I also saw a couple just the other day. One thing is that we used to have a notion that black women woern't really attractive. So the only black women who were viewed as attractive were those who had white features, like Halle Berry. Now we are getting a more broad perspective. And guys will be attracted to black women even when they (gasp) look black!

Answer 4

You might be interested in this book I just read - "The Sea Captain's Wife: A True Story of Love, Race, and War in the Nineteenth Century" by Martha Hodes

It's the true story about a poor white woman from the north who marries a wealthy black man from Grand Cayman just after the Civil War. Besides telling the personal story of these two individuals, the book talks about 19th century racial attitudes, including the way that Irish immigrants were treated at that time (i.e. many people did not consider the Irish to be "white" and they were subject to discrimination.) It isn't exactly the story you are writing, but it might have some helpful background. Good luck!

Answer 5

Rashad G did you really have to say that? It would seem that you could have kept that to yourself -- unless you know this woman personally, you are also a prejudiced bigot.

Cajun surnames are probably more french than Irish. Look at some of the street names in NOLA.

The us gov has a website that has historical data and pics. forgot the web address.

Answer 6

some jim crow law are:
Grandfather Clause-no man may vote unless their grandfather voted (kept blacks from voting since their grandfathers were slaves and couldnt vote)
Segregation
Literary Tests-no man may vote if they cant write (kept blacks from voting since many were illeterate)

cant remember the rest