LSAT 115 | Section 1 | Reading Comprehension: Q12

RC Question 12 Explanation

DISCUSSION: The main point of the passage is to discuss Thurgood Marshall’s strategy for overturning “separate but equal”.

The answers are all abstract. On this type of question, before picking the answer, ask yourself: what does this refer abstract language to? If you don’t know, you likely don’t have the right answer.

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1. Tell me, what are the details of Marshall’s career? What kind of hours did he work? Salary? Common daily tasks? We’re not told any career details.
2. Tell me, how were African Americans’ lives affected by “separate but equal”, a government policy? Name me a single example.
   (Housing discrimination wasn’t the result of a government policy. It was possible because government policy hadn’t applied to private housing.)
3. CORRECT. Marshall’s strategy was introduced in lines 26-28. The entire article is focussed on examining Marshall’s idea that he would have to build up a series of victorious cases as a prelude to overturning “separate but equal”. 
4. We’re not told if Marshall’s strategy will work in the modern world, or against other legal doctrines.
5. Close, the passage did focus on Marshall’s strategy. But the point isn’t to inform us about separate but equal. That has long since disappeared as a legal doctrine.