Asked in 1952 why the Society tolerated segregation at its assemblies, The Watchtower answered that separate meetings were better than none, that segregation was "the outgrowth and hangover of slavery" and that since the apostles had not campaigned against slavery Christians should not campaign against its "lingering trace", and told those affected, in Paul’s words, "Do not let it worry you". It added: "Really, our colored brothers have great cause for rejoicing. Their race is meek and teachable, and from it comes a high percentage of the theocratic increase."

Confidence note. The whole article was opened on the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026, read from the document’s own HTML and read again independently on the same date. The document carries page markers for 94, 95 and 96 and the printed citation line "w52 2/1 pp. 94-96"; the answer on segregation occupies pages 94-95, and a second, unrelated question in the same column — about a health folder — runs on to page 96. The question is signed in the magazine "—F. C., Wisconsin". The square brackets in the quotation are this ledger’s marks, showing where the reader’s question ends and the magazine’s answer begins; every word outside the brackets stands as printed. The answer does not open with the words quoted: it opens "Why do we tolerate the segregation laws and policies of certain governments and organizations of this world?" and four sentences follow before "We never have separate meetings". An earlier version of this record ran the bracketed label straight into that sentence with no ellipsis; the ellipsis is now there.

Corroborated by. src-race-w-2011-1215-thompson

Notes. The article is still carried, word for word, on the organisation’s own online library at the URL given.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-race-w-1952-0201-qfr-segregation

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