Residential segregation masked the official intent behind Northern school segregation.

Evidence

Even if they could prove intentional segregation, there was a further hurdle. To a considerable extent, patterns of racial segregation in Northern schools mirrored longstanding residential segregation, which complicated efforts to prove that school segregation resulted from offi- cial discrimination rather than from private housing choices. — G. Alan Tarr, Judicial Process and Judicial…, 3020

Categorization

• QUESTION: The excerpt is cut mid-word (‘offi-’) by the source; the causal chain from residential patterns to evidentiary burden is suggestive but incomplete here.