Reading ComprehensionDifficulty: Easy

PT157 S1 P1 Q2 ExplanationCivil Rights Movement

A free, expert breakdown of this official LSAT Reading Comprehension question.

TopicsLocate DetailSociety

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Passage

The late 1950s and early 1960s were a time of profound growth for the civil rights movement in the United States. Although racial segregation in the public schools had been outlawed in 1954, the ruling applied only to this one category of discriminatory practice in U.S. society. But it furthered within the ones, and generated support for the civil rights movement among many new segments of the populace.

Initiated by four students of the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College, the first sit-in occurred at a lunch counter in February 1960. Sit-ins then spread rapidly through the southern U.S., involving over 70,000 participants by August 1961. The sit-ins provided an important model for nonviolent protest and showed students that they Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and the birth of a second form of sit-ins called Freedom Rides.

The formation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee followed the first sit-in by just a few months and not only solidified student involvement in the civil rights movement but also placed students in leadership roles for the first time. It operated independently of other civil rights organizations and relied on strong local their elders alike, examples of the methods they might use to achieve a more equal society.

What this question is testing

Locate Detail

Goal

Find "raised expectations." Everything else is either not attributed to the 1954 ruling or flatly contradicts the passage.

Reading along? Open the full official question in LawHub — we show a fragment here and keep the reasoning in our own words.

The question
2.

According to the passage, the outlawing of segregation in the U.S. public schools in 1954 had which one

Answer choices, explained

  1. Unsupported3% picked this

    It led directly to the formation of the Student Nonviolent

    The passage does not connect the 1954 ruling to the formation of SNCC. SNCC formed after the sit-ins, not as a consequence of the ruling.

  2. Correct85% picked this

    It served to encourage African Americans to expect similar changes in other

    Why this is right

    The passage states the ruling "furthered within the African-American community the anticipation of broader changes" -- it encouraged expectations of similar changes elsewhere.

    Skill tested: Locate Detail · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

  3. Unsupported2% picked this

    It provided a useful example of a method students might use to achieve a

    The passage does not describe the 1954 ruling as providing a model for student protest methods. The sit-ins provided that model.

  4. Contradiction1% picked this

    It dramatically concluded a period of profound growth in the U.S.

    The passage says the late 1950s and early 1960s were a time of "profound growth." The 1954 ruling opened a growth period; it did not conclude one.

  5. Unsupported9% picked this

    It galvanized established U.S. civil rights organizations and led immediately to the creation

    The passage attributes galvanizing organizations and creating new ones to the sit-ins, not to the 1954 ruling. And "led immediately" is unsupported -- six years separated the ruling from the sit-ins.

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