| McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued April 3–4, 1950 Decided June 5, 1950 | |
| Full case name | McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, et al. |
| Citations | 339U.S.637 (more) 70 S. Ct. 851; 94L. Ed. 1149; 1950U.S. LEXIS 1810 |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma |
| Holding | |
| Different treatment of students in public institutions of higher learning solely on the basis of race violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. | |
| Court membership | |
| |
| Case opinion | |
| Majority | Vinson, joined byunanimous |
McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents, 339 U.S. 637 (1950), was aUnited States Supreme Court case that prohibitedracial segregation in state supported graduate or professional education.[1] The unanimous decision was delivered on the same day as another case involving similar issues,Sweatt v. Painter.
Theplaintiff,George W. McLaurin, who already had a master's degree in education, was first denied admission to theUniversity of Oklahoma to pursue a Doctorate in Education degree. McLaurin successfully sued in theU.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma to gain admission to the institution (87 F. Supp. 526; 1948 U.S. Dist.) basing his argument on theFourteenth Amendment. At the time, Oklahoma law prohibited schools from instructing blacks and whites together. The court found that the university's inaction in providing separate facilities, in order to meet Oklahoma state law, allowing McLaurin to attend the institution was a violation of his Constitutional rights. However, the court did not issue any injunctive relief as requested by the plaintiff but rather relied "on the assumption that the law having been declared, the State will comply."
The University admitted McLaurin but provided him separate facilities, including a special table in the cafeteria, and a designated and screened desk in the library. Depending on the classroom, he was provided a desk just outside the classroom doorway, or in the classroom closet. Sometimes he was made to eat at different times than the other students.
McLaurin returned to the U.S. District court and petitioned to require the University of Oklahoma to remove the separate facilities, and instead allow him to interact with the professors and other students fully (87 F. Supp. 528; 1949 U.S. Dist.) The court denied McLaurin's petition.
McLaurin then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. On June 5, 1950, theUnited States Supreme Court ruled that apublic institution of higher learning could not provide different treatment to a student solely because of his race as doing so deprived the student of his/herFourteenth Amendment rights of Equal Protection.
Accordingly, the high court reversed the decision of the U.S. District Court, requiring the University of Oklahoma to remove the restrictions under which McLaurin was attending the institution. This case together withSweatt v. Painter, which was decided the same day, marked the end of theseparate but equal doctrine ofPlessy v. Ferguson in graduate and professional education.
In 2001, theBizzell Memorial Library, the main library at the University of Oklahoma, was designated a U.S.National Historic Landmark in commemoration of this case.[2][3] The case was heard in Oklahoma City at thePost Office, Courthouse, and Federal Office Building.
This article incorporatespublic domain material from this U.S government document.
