Final answer:
In 1957, the police's inability to find those responsible for beating Fred Shuttlesworth after trying to integrate a local school is indicative of the systemic racism and collusion with segregationist groups that characterized Southern law enforcement at that time.
Step-by-step explanation:
In 1957, Fred Shuttlesworth attempted to integrate a local high school with his children, in the face of staunch segregationist beliefs prevailing in the South. It is not surprising that the police could not find the perpetrators of his beating given the social and political climate of the time, which was characterized by systemic racism and widespread opposition to integration. Law enforcement in the South often colluded with segregationist groups and failed to protect civil rights activists, a pattern also seen in the fact that local police supported the murders of civil rights workers Schwerner, Goodman, and Chaney in Mississippi.
White responses to desegregation during this time included forming organizations to postpone school integration indefinitely, resorting to procedural delays, legal challenges, and other maneuvers. These actions highlight the institutional barriers and social enmity which civil rights activists like Shuttlesworth faced, which included violent retribution and a lack of police action against White supremacist violence.