Sipuel v. Board of Regents of the University of Oklahoma (1948)

Despite being “concededly qualified,” Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher was denied admission to the University of Oklahoma School of Law based solely on her race. By this point in time, the Supreme Court had decreed that the denial of state-sponsored education on racial grounds was illegal. But Oklahoma argued that they planned on opening an all-Black law school in the future and therefore did not have to admit Sipuel to OU Law. In the course of challenging her denial, Fisher took her case all the way to the Supreme Court.

Just four days after oral argument, the Supreme Court returned a unanimous decision in Fisher’s favor. According to Justice Stevens, the Court’s expedience was due in no small part to the elegant and persuasive arguments presented by Thurgood Marshall. Fisher became the first African American to attend the University of Oklahoma School of Law. Her admission was an inspiration to Black college applicants and had a lasting impact on the racial educational politics of Oklahoma.

While at OU Law, Fisher was subject to harsh restrictions. She was required to sit separately from other students in a section labelled “colored.” In order to eat at the cafeteria, Fisher had to enter from a side door and sit in a chained-off area, isolated from everyone except the uniform guard posted to prevent other students from interacting with her. These restrictions would be challenged and overturned later in the McLaurin case.

Years after graduation in 1992, Sipuel was appointed to the Board of Regents herself. Sipuel’s case was one of a series of cases that laid the groundwork for the hugely impactful Brown v. Board of Education decision desegregating public schools.

Information from, and additional reading at,

Sipuel v. Bd. of Regents of Univ. of Okla., 332 U.S. 631 (1948).

https://www.supremecourt.gov/publicinfo/speeches/sp_08-06-05.html

Robert Mcg. Thomas Jr., Ada Fisher, 71; Broke a Law School Color Barrier, N.Y. Times, Oct. 21, 1995, § 1 at 27, N.Y. Times, https://www.nytimes.com/1995/10/21/us/ada-fisher-71-broke-a-law-school-color-barrier.html.