“For the first time in my life I was learning what it felt like to be a ‘nigger.’” ~ Clifton Davis In 1959 Clifton Davis, a poor black kid living in Long Island, New York, was told he was not allowed to enter Glen Echo Amusement Park with some of his middle school friends, on a class trip - because of his race. Glen Echo Amusement Park’s policy to exclude people of different nationalities or ethnicities is just because this action was not against Jim Crow Laws at the time, the amusement parks had the right to refuse service to anyone, and because of the 1st Amendment.
One important reason that this policy is just is because the action of not letting someone of a different race or ethnicity in the park does not go against Jim Crow Laws. One Jim Crow Law it does not go against is the law that states people of color must have different parks than people without color. If the park were to let Clifton into their park with the people without color they would violate that Jim Crow Law. This
…show more content…
Legalzoom.com, Inc. 2007, states, “The answer is that you can refuse to serve someone even if they’re in a protected group, but the refusal can’t be arbitrary and you can’t apply it to just one group of people.” This statement shown allows the amusement park to refuse service to not just blacks but to Asians, Mexicans, and any race of there choice. Glen Echo Amusement Park is not breaking this law because they refuse service to other races also. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not allow private businesses to refuse service based on race. However, Glen Echo Amusement Park refuse service to Clifton in 1959, therefore the Civil Rights Act had not happened yet. So it was okay to refuse service to anyone of their choice. You again notice how it was just for the amusement park to refuse service to