What was daily life really like for ordinary African American people in Jim Crow America, the period of enforced legal segregation that began immediately after the Civil War and continued until the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965? What did they eat, wear, believe, and think? How did they raise their children? How did they interact with government? What did they value? What did they do for fun? This encyclopedia explores the lives of average people through social, cultural, and material history. Supported by current research, the two-volume set examines social history topics-including family, political, religious, and economic life-as it illuminates elements of a society's emotional life, interactions, opinions, views, beliefs, intimate relationships, and connections between individuals and the greater world. Topical sections deal with different aspects of cultural life and include introductory essays and A-Z entries on aspects of each topic.