Railroads played a complicated role in the Jim Crow South. On the one hand, railroads were a poster child for Jim Crow. Segregated cars and waiting rooms were iconic symbols of the system. On the other hand, Black Americans used the railroad to challenge the system. The rail lines that crisscrossed the country provided economic growth, political resistance, and social movement opportunities.
As a rail town, Denison did not escape these trends. Join the Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site and educator/interpreter Jennifer Parsley as she talks about "Civil Rights on the Line: The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow."