Then Gillespie’s speech turned from “natural law” arguments to examine Scripture from which he contended he could still make “valid inferences” about segregation. Leviticus admonished the Israelites not to mix “diverse things” like wool and linen as well as different strains of cattle and seeds. Reasoning from this injunction, Gillespie figured that “the same principle would apply with even greater force with respect to human relations.”9 In other words, if different fabrics, animals, and plants could not mix in the Old Testament, it was best for black and white peoples not to mix either.
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