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I'm well aware of Jim Crow laws. They mandated the racial segregation of public facilities, the military, restrooms, etc. What is the mistake you think I'm making about Jim Crow laws?

Surely there must have been at least a few business owners that didn't want to spend their resources on separate facilities. Otherwise the state laws which forced segregation wouldn't have been necessary.

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Yes - they just didn't serve blacks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Negro_Motorist_Green_Book

What mistake do I think you are making? You said: "It actually refers to the government's legal authority to mandate that privately owned businesses provide separate nut equal facilities for blacks". No law ever forced private businesses to serve blacks in the south until the civil rights act. They may have been forced to racially segregate, but no law every forced white southern business owners to serve blacks.

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