Two years before the ratification of the 13th Amendment, African slaves in many parts of the U.S. had learned about The Emancipation Proclamation, which freed slaves in designated parts of the United States. "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Congress had the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. "Emancipation, while it may have ended slavery - did not bring freedom to the African [slaves]. It was after slavery that you get some of the most barbaric, uncivilized manifestations of hate and of the sense of white superiority." This unfortunately continues in modern times. As recently as December 2003, the FBI investigated a situation where threatening letters were sent to prominent black men in sports and other prominentcareers. These letters included threats of being shot, castrated, or set on fire if Black men refused to stop having relationships with Whites.

After freedom, Blacks were brutally segregated and relegated to hard times and conditions. Due to many changes in America, "Black rights became vulnerable to compromise and sacrifice. By the late 1800's Whites began to insist on formal racial segregation, which had long been practiced in fact; segregation was given official status to show whites that they were indeed superior to blacks." The Black Codes were a constant reminder to Blacks that "freedom was not as they had anticipated." The Codes were used to inhibit freedom by dictating all aspects of the ex-slaves' lives, from work hours and duties to behavior, especially when Blacks had to deal with Whites or when they were in the presence of Whites. Blacks were often arrested when they solicited services from restaurants that were open to the general public. States usually had statutes that made it a misdemeanor to refuse to leave the premises of establishments when requested by the owner to do so. These statutes were used to protect Whites from the inferior Blacks. In Georgia v. Rachel, the defendants argued that "their arrests were effected for the sole purpose of aiding, abetting, and perpetuating customs, and usages which have deep historical and psychological roots in the mores and attitudes ...." These were common types of prosecutions that were unfolding throughout the country. Blacks were barred from towns after certain hours and could not reside in certain towns and cities. Under Jim Crow, many "Black males were expected to tip their hats in the presence of whites, even if they were walking on the opposite side of the street." The Codes were implemented in the late nineteenth century and, unfortunately, lasted until the 1960s. Neither Blacks nor Whites could easily disregard this 'Code Mentality'; thus, the 'Code Mentality' had a profound effect well beyond the 1960s because people who had lived under that system refused to relinquish what they had come to know as the 'norm.' "[L]egalized segregation could not achieve its purpose without imposing inequality," and grave inequity. "The purposeful creation and maintenance of inequality" was sanctioned and upheld by the U.S. government to the detriment of the freed African slaves. The judicial branch of the U.S. Government put its stamp of approval on separate but equal when it made it the law of the land.The Court, in Plessy v. Ferguson, put its stamp of approval on the "superiority" of Whites. After the Plessy decision, Whites had a "legal right" to a separate lifestyle. Though many services and amenities were financially supported by the federal government, it nevertheless decided to enforce white rights at the freed African slaves' expense. "De jure segregation in the Southconstituted one of the material benefits of racial exclusion and subjugation which functioned to stifle class tensions among whites." This government sanctioned exclusion highlights the government's failure to treat its new citizens equally by providing protection only to the majority Whites.

Early in American society and especially after the abolition of slavery, "white privilege" became an expectation. Whiteness became the quintessential property of personhood. The societal sentiment of the day, which was legally supported by the Codes, elevated "whiteness" to an "object" over which continued control was expected and, in reality, obtained. Whites were expected to use this privilege, and they did - it was accepted as a right because they were "White" and that had value, which brought benefits. The "law recognized, either implicitly or explicitly, the settled expectations of whites built on the privileges and benefits produced by white supremacy, it acknowledge[d] and reinforce[d] a property interest in whiteness that reproduces Black subordination." With this type of support for White supremacy and domination, the freed African slaves' path was severely jeopardized.

As a result of the passage of the 13th Amendment, additional legislation was passed. Unfortunately, progress was further hampered because the judicial system failed in the art of genuine interpretation, which is to uncover the rule the lawmaker intended to establish. Notwithstandingpositive laws, slow progress was recorded for ex-slaves after their emancipation. Additional amendments were adopted, but bias continued in the courts immediately after Emancipation and that bias still exists today. Thus, "it takes legislative [and judicial] support and public concern to bring about changes," not only in the judicial system but also throughout the fabric of America. In spite of setbacks, ex-slaves remained optimistic that they would soon be accepted by White society, and they continued to work toward that end.