Jim Crow Artifacts at the PCCLM

Text: "Colored" Sink. Jim Crow practices mandated that there be no social or physical interactions between blacks and whites, especially in the workplace and in social settings. This hand washing sink, which once hung on a Portsmouth CSX Railroad warehouse wall, is a tangible example of how seregation was a part of daily life. Not only were blacks prohibited from drinking from the same water fountains as whites, blacks wee prohibited from washing their hands in the same sinks. The word "colored" signified that this sink was to be used by African Americans only.