Sipuel v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma
In 1946, Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher applied to attend the College of Law at the University of Oklahoma. Fisher, who graduated from Langston University less than a year before, was an accomplished student. Although Fisher met all of the academic requirements for enrollment, Oklahoma law stated that African American students and white students must be taught separately. For this reason, Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher was denied admission to the university.
Represented by attorneys Thurgood Marshall and Amos T. Hall, and with the support of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Fisher took her battle to the legal system. She first appeared before the Cleveland County District Court, then on to the Oklahoma Supreme Court, and finally to the United States Supreme Court. It was the U.S. Supreme Court that ruled that Oklahoma must give all citizens the same opportunity to learn.
But Fisher was still not permitted to attend OU College of Law; instead, a separate law school was created for her. Fisher again went to court, arguing that the new school would not provide instruction equal to that available to white students. The Cleveland County District Court ruled against her, and the Oklahoma Supreme Court denied her appeal.
Fisher and her lawyers prepared to appear before the U.S. Supreme Court once again, but the Oklahoma Attorney General conceded, and the new law school was closed. On June 18, 1949, Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher was admitted to the University of Oklahoma College of Law. She graduated in 1952.
The case of Sipuel v. Board of Regents set the precedent for other African Americans seeking equal opportunities for education.
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