July 3, 1865---"Jump, Jim Crow!"

JULY 3, 1865:   

Opelousas, Louisiana passes the nation’s first “Black Code.”  Jim Crow is born.

Among the Code's fourteen provisions:

 

No negro shall be allowed to come within the limits of the town of Opelousas without special permission from his employers.

No negro shall be permitted to rent or keep a house within the limits of the town under any circumstances.

No negro shall reside within the limits of the town of Opelousas who is not in the regular service of some white person or former

owner.

No public meetings of negroes shall be allowed within the limits of the town of Opelousas under any circumstances without the

permission of the mayor or president of the board of police. This, however, does not prevent the freedmen from attending the usual church services.

No freedman who is not in the military service shall be allowed to carry firearms, or any kind of weapons, within the limits of the town of Opelousas without the special permission of his employer, in writing, and approved by the mayor or president of the board of police.

All the foregoing provisions apply to freedmen and freedwomen.