Question

Under this doctrine, Art Hanes, the mayor of Birmingham, could justify segregated parks. “We have four swimming pools for whites and four for Negroes,” he pointed out. “Four and four, now how is this discrimination? Have a golf course for ’em. Cost the taxpayers $22,000 a year to subsidize it, for the Negroes to play golf. Now what is so wrong to ask them to play golf on their own golf course?”

There were several things wrong – above all, the concept of “separate but equal” itself. Separation on the basis of race is simply unjust.

Segregation was a poisonous residue left over from slavery, the Civil War, and Reconstruction, the period when southern whites felt that northerners imposed integration on them against their will. In retaliation, whites established segregation codes and other means to draw strict lines between themselves and blacks.

—We’ve Got a Job,
Cynthia Levinson

Which three phrases express the author’s viewpoint or opinions?

“There were several things wrong”
“Now what is so wrong to ask them to play golf on their own golf course?”
“We have four swimming pools for whites and four for Negroes”
“Separation on the basis of race is simply unjust”
“Segregation was a poisonous residue”

Answer 1

The three that express the author’s viewpoint are:

- “There were several things wrong”
- “Separation on the basis of race is simply unjust”
- “Segregation was a poisonous residue”

The other two lines are quotes of Mayor Hanes’ words, not the author’s opinion.