Law that enforced
The term, taken from a minstrel-show routine, became a derogatory epithet for African Americans. After Reconstruction , Southern legislatures passed laws requiring segregation of whites and "persons of colour" on public transportation. These later extended to schools, restaurants, and other public places. In 1954 the U.S. Supreme Court declared segregation in public schools unconstitutional in {{link=Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka">Brown v. Board of Education ; later rulings struck down other Jim Crow laws.