Segregation Sources Question

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  1. a) Source 2 shows segregation at the lowest levels. Southern government’s segregation laws even forbade a black man to drink from the same drinking fountain let alone use the same school or bus.

  1. b)  Martin Luthor King describes the many forms of segregation in source 1

He makes a specific reference to source 2; “you would use…a separate water fountain and lavatory labelled coloured.”

  1. Martin Luthor King mentions discrimination such as segregation in housing, schools and workplaces. He also mentions inadequate facilities for black children and poor job prospects for adults in source 1. In source 3 Jim Crow laws such as segregation on buses and separate “waiting rooms and other facilities in airports.” Source 4 describes the intimidation and fear of murder the black community suffered in the south. Source 5 also makes a strong reference to the unjust and biased legal system in the south.

  1. It is hard to judge the reliability of any source with out knowing a considerable amount about its background and the writer’s motives.  Source 7 can be seen as quite reliable, the New York Times was a reputable newspaper, although its readers were mainly liberalist whites so the story many have been slightly biased towards the black students we don’t know this for certain though as the extract may have been taken out of context. Source 8 is a photograph. This makes it seem highly reliable but perhaps only a small section of the crowd is shown. None of the civil rights protestors who were present were shown in the photo. We don’t know if the soldiers present are there to support the students or aposse them. We also have to question what caption came with this photo. The caption is important because it greatly affects our view of the photo.  Source 9 is a first person account by one of the pupils. It is fairly reliable because she does not seem to have forgotten any details; this is backed up by other accounts of the incident. There doesn’t seem to be a feeling of malice or hate in her testimony. She also tells of both the racists and the NAACP supporters present, unlike the New York Times. Source 10 could be reliable. It is a poll taken by a reputable polling company however we do no not know how the question was worded and therefore we can’t be sure just how many people actually approve or disapprove. This poll is just a still frame in a movie; people’s opinions can change over time. We also don’t know if any major events have happened near the time of the poll that would effect people’s views.
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  1. Source 11 is an extract from a speech delivered to the senate by James Eastland, a white senator. He defends segregation as moral and something that is not only accepted by both races but benefits them also. The first thing a historian must note when evaluating this source is that it is an exert from a speech. At first glance we notice that Eastland seems to contradict himself by saying free men have the right to send their children to schools of their own choosing. This appears to contradict his segragationalist views but because ...

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