SEGREGATION AND AMERICAN SOCIETY.

The article presents a discussion on segregation in the U.S. and Great Britain. Segregation is an issue vitally affecting the whole of American society--not just in the sense that an unresolved problem in the South America is a matter of conscience for all Americans, but also because the present existence of segregated populations is woven intimately into American thoughts and habits everywhere. The black reservoir of underprivileged humanity that is universal in the South affects every enterprise everywhere, directly or indirectly. It is well known that some states maintain segregation officially; but not many people in Great Britain realize that it is possible for counties and cities even in states that are officially integrated to keep up segregation in practice. This may be done by local by-laws or by gentleman's agreements. As long as housing is zoned, or subtle or overt preferences in employment have the desired effect, the African American is effectively segregated. The law cannot easily reach gentleman's agreements or hidden pressures. Moreover, just as each of the forty-eight states in the American union is its own master in important matters such as education, the constituent counties and districts of a particular state may also contrive to control their own destinies to an unexpected extent.