Paradoxical Nature of Racial Segregation

Key Insight

Racial prejudice in the United States appears to grow stronger as slavery is destroyed, especially in states where it has been abolished. Despite legal changes, the 'barrier of mores' remains unaltered, and nowhere is intolerance greater than in states where servitude was historically unknown. Even though marriage between Negroes and Whites may be lawful in the North, public opinion would brand a white man who married a Negress with 'infamy,' and such unions are practically unheard of.

In nearly all states that abolished slavery, Negroes are granted voting rights but risk their lives if they exercise them. They face white judges, are excluded from juries by prejudice, and their children are barred from schools attended by European-descendant children. Even in public spaces like theaters and hospitals, segregation persists. The Black is permitted to worship the same God but not at the same altar, having his own priests and temples, with inequality extending even to burial.

Conversely, in the South, where slavery still exists, 'less care is taken to keep the Negro apart.' Negroes sometimes work alongside Whites and share their pleasures, and Whites are 'willing to mix with them up to a point.' While legislation is harsher, social habits are 'milder and more tolerant.' This is because the Southern master, secure in his power to 'cast him back down into the dust,' does not fear elevating the slave, whereas the Northern white, lacking a clear legal barrier, shuns the Negro more assiduously 'for fear that he might one day become indistinguishable from him.'