The Oklahoma Board of Regents,
then, decided to admit Negroes to any course of study not
provided for by the state college for Negroes. This was a
considerable step forward.
In 1950, in Sweatt v. Painter, the Supreme Court condemned an
attempt by the state of Texas to establish a special law school
overnight in which it could enroll a Negro applicant. The Court
said that this fly-by-night institution was not equal, and it
insisted that an equal institution must include equal faculty,
equal library, and equal prestige. It argued that part of an
equal degree was the prestige conferred on the graduate by the
status of that institution. To be equal, the Court reasoned, the
separate school must carry an equal degree of professional
status. It also decided, in McLaurin v. Oklahama Regents, that
it was unconstitutional for a university to segregate a Negro
student within its premises. Oklahoma had roped off part of its
university's classrooms, library, and dining room as a means of
accommodating a graduate student in the School of Education. The
Court argued that this handicapped a student in his pursuit of
learning and that part of a graduate education included the
ability to engage in open discussion with other students.
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