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ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY:November 22, 1865 Republicans denounce Democrat legislature of Mississippi for enacting “black codes,” which institutionalized racial discrimination November 22, 1865: Republicans denounce Democrat legislature of Mississippi for enacting “black codes,” which institutionalized racial discrimination On November 22, 1865, the Republican Party denounced the Mississippi legislature for enacting "black codes," which institutionalized racial discrimination. These codes were a series of laws passed in the wake of emancipation, designed to curtail the economic, political, and social freedom of African Americans. The codes included provisions such as prohibiting freedmen from intermarrying with white people, requiring them to carry proof of employment, and imposing fines and imprisonment for vagrancy. The Republican Party's condemnation of these laws was part of a broader effort to protect the civil rights of newly freed slaves and to combat the racial discrimination that had been institutionalized by the previous system of slavery. https://eji.org/