1901 Constitutional Convention
Alabama took the outcome of the Plessy v. Ferguson case as a chance to establish a state based on white supremacy. Alabama convened another constitutional convention in 1901 in hopes of ultimately enforcing the separation between whites and African Americans in constitutional text. Delegates, predominantly Democrats, included two governors, two former justices of the State Supreme Court, and several U.S. Representatives, as well as mayors, judges, and lawyers who altogether did little to represent the interests of poor whites and African Americans. "None of the delegates were African American"(Warren).
Throughout the 82 days in session, delegates conclusively changed the face of equality based on race in Alabama. "Sections 178 and 180 through 182 included provisions specifically designed to disenfranchise black voters. Section 256 established an entirely segregated school system. Section 102 prevented the legislature from ever allowing interracial marriages" (Novkov). These constitutional revisions would officially spark the beginning of the notorious Jim Crow era and the proceeding of Black suffrage in America. And "by 1910, every former Confederate state had enacted laws restricting African American political rights, social movement, and economic development" (Brown).