Final answer:
The phrase 'Jim Crow' refers to a racist caricature from a blackface minstrel show 'Jump Jim Crow' performed by a white actor, and became the term for the segregationist laws that established and maintained racial discrimination until 1965.
Step-by-step explanation:
The origin of the phrase "Jim Crow" comes from the song-and-dance caricature of African Americans called "Jump Jim Crow." The term "Jim Crow" originated from a stage name used by a white actor, who performed in blackface and mocked African Americans during the antebellum period. This theatrical act not only contributed to racist attitudes but also paralleled the systemic racial segregation that was codified into law with the Jim Crow laws.
The name "Jim Crow" itself, depicting a stereotypical, buffoonish black slave, became synonymous with the subsequent laws that enforced racial segregation and upheld white supremacy across the United States, particularly in the South. These laws institutionalized a host of economic, educational, and social disadvantages for African Americans, and were in place from the late 19th century until 1965 when they were dismantled by the Civil Rights Movement.