Final answer:
The name 'Jim Crow' for the racial segregation laws comes from a racist character in 19th-century minstrel shows. White actor Thomas Dartmouth 'Daddy' Rice performed as 'Jump Jim Crow,' perpetuating black stereotypes, and the laws later named after this character enforced segregation and inequality against African Americans.
Step-by-step explanation:
The origin of the Jim Crow laws can be traced back to a racist characterization from the 19th century. The term 'Jim Crow' was taken from a popular minstrel show character, portrayed by a white actor who donned blackface to mock African Americans. This term ultimately became synonymous with the set of laws that enforced racial segregation in the United States, particularly in the Southern states, after the Reconstruction era.
Specifically, the name 'Jim Crow' came from 'Jump Jim Crow', a song-and-dance caricature of African Americans performed by white actor Thomas Dartmouth 'Daddy' Rice. This character was part of the blackface minstrel shows that were popular in that era, and it served as a derogatory symbol of the perceived inferiority of African Americans. The Jim Crow laws, which included measures such as the segregation of public places, disenfranchisement of black voters, and the legal principle of 'separate but equal' upheld in Plessy v. Ferguson, were a direct reflection of the racism that the character symbolized.
Answer (c) 'the term Jim Crow was a derogatory term for African Americans' is correct because it aligns with the historical attribution of the name to the set of laws that institutionalized racial discrimination and segregation.