As King was growing up, everything in Georgia was segregated, 70 years after the Confederacy was defeated and blacks were later separated away from white people. This meant that black and white people were not allowed to go to the same schools, use the same public bathrooms, eat at the same restaurants, drink at the same water fountains, or even go to the same hospitals. Everything was separate. However, the white hospitals, schools, and other places were usually much better than the places where black people were allowed to go.