Can we really say that the accommodations for each race were truly equal? No, we can not. The amount of resources provided to each may have very well been equal, but the quality of those resources is what I come to question. For example, both races could have working toilets, but that does not mean the quality of the "blacks only" one worked well or even all the time. I do not think the issue is a matter of quantity, but quality. Giving them the same resources that are valued at different prices is not equal. Continually, the court ruled in this case that segregation was not discrimination. However true that may be, segregation where one race is not as equally valued or cared for as the other is discrimination. The word explains itself, unjust treatment and singling out.

There is obviously more emotion wrapped up in this lettter than I previously realized. I do not believe this has anything to do with the ordinary physical abuse, but more so to do with sexual abuse which leads to mental abuse. This is a big underlying issue that is playing a factor in their decision to move or not to move; the fear of their daughters being sexually itemized by the males present at the old master's home. I completely understand this fear and empathize more with their side of this on the hesitation to move. Reading between the lines here, we are able to get a deeper understanding of the type of treatment women and possibly even men went through while being enslaved.

He could tell him many things to get him to come there, but that does not mean he is making false promises. I guess I just don't understand why Jourdon would want to even go back to his old master if he is doing so well now and earning a sense of respect from others around him. I just don't know if I could go back and work for someone who has shot at me several times without the promise of pay. I would not have the trust in me to do so, no matter how much I was promised.

I can definitely understand both sides. Being in their position I would be afraid to go back and work for someone whom had recently enslaved me. My main concern would be that my old master would revert back to his old ways of treatment and continue to view me as a slave instead of the human that I am. However, I can understand if the master is hesitant in sending the wages because there is the chance of him sending them and then never hearing from the Anderson's again causing him to lose a great deal. I do not believe that what they are asking could be considered a "real test of sincerity" as he puts it in his letter, because it could go bad for either side.