>>The right to free association is one of the cornerstones of individual liberty.<<
I could not agree more. Its to bad our Federal government just doesn't butt out and stop being so heavy-handed. I think people would get along better if they did.
The most egregious anti-segregationist ruling came in the form of
Brown vs. Board of Education (1954), where the Warren Supreme Court argued that "separate is inherently unequal." The decision overturned
Plessey vs. Ferguson, which allowed separate but equal facilities for the races.
Plessey is by far the sounder logical argument. Brown, besides being utterly devoid of logical derivation, owes no allegiance to common law or societal precedent. It established a social doctrine out of whole cloth, and in defiance of prior arguments to the contrary.
Saying so doesn't make me a racist. Nor does support for segregation, in and of itself, make Trent Lott or Strom Thurmond one either.