The university of Texas at Austin celebrated their first Black graduates to earn a degree in Zool- ogy. Exalton Delco was UT’s first Black person to receive a Ph.D. in Zool- ogy. UT’s very first Black graduate Oscar Thompson also studied zoology. UT Austin did not always accept Black students and neither did many other predominantly white institutions there is deep rooted history that have allowed these men and many others to now be celebrated at their alma maters. Brown v. Board of Edu- cation is the staple case that most people know about. However, there are 3 major cases that paved the way for Brown v. Board. Those 3 cases are, Missouri ex rel Gaines v. Canada in 1938, Sweat v. Painter in 1950 and Mc. Laurin v. Oklahoma which also took place in 1950. Despite, the land- mark decision of Plessy v. Ferguson which created “Separate but Equal” things in fact continued to be unequal between Black and white people, causing a series of U.S. Supreme Court cases regarding the injustices of race to take place. The NAACP took a stand to overcome racial discrimination. Lloyd Lionel Gaines was an African American man born in Water Val- ley, Mississippi in 1911. Gaines was the plaintiff in Missouri ex rel Gaines v. Canada in 1938. Gaines had completed his un- dergraduate studies at Lin- coln University, he applied to the University of Mis- souri Law School but was denied because of his race. The state of Missouri tried to negotiate with Gaines by offering him admission to an all-black law school that would have to be built (Missouri did not have any at the time) or offer Gaines assistance with his tuition at a neighboring states law school. Gaines declined both of these offers and hired Thurgood Marshall to represent him. In Gaines decision to sue the state of Missouri, the case eventually made it to the U.S. Supreme Court. It was argued in November 1938 that his denial to the University of Missouri Law School was a violation of the 14th Amendment. The 14th Amendment guarantees equal protection […]
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