## Facts

- George W. McLaurin, a Black Oklahoma resident with a master’s degree, sought admission to the University of Oklahoma’s state-supported graduate program to pursue a doctorate in education.
- Oklahoma law effectively barred integrated education, and the University denied McLaurin admission solely because of race.
- A three-judge federal district court ruled the State had a constitutional duty to provide McLaurin the graduate education it provided to others and held the exclusionary statutes unconstitutional as applied, while retaining jurisdiction.
- Oklahoma amended its law to permit Black students to attend white institutions when no comparable program existed elsewhere, but required segregated instruction.
- McLaurin was admitted but subjected to state-imposed segregation within the institution, including separate seating in classrooms and separate tables in the library and cafeteria.
- The district court refused to order removal of these internal segregation measures and upheld the University’s arrangements.
- McLaurin appealed directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.

## Issues

1. Whether a State violates the Equal Protection Clause by imposing racial segregation on a Black student within a public graduate school after admitting him, including physical separation in classrooms, the library, and the cafeteria.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court unanimously reversed.
- The Court held that, once admitted to a state-supported graduate school, a student must receive the same treatment as students of other races.
- The Court concluded that the imposed segregation impaired McLaurin’s ability to study, participate in discussions, exchange views, and learn, and therefore denied him equal protection.
- The Court distinguished state-imposed separation from private choices by students, holding that the constitutional violation lies in State barriers to intellectual association.

## Legal Principles

- A State may not provide different treatment to an admitted student in a public institution of higher education solely because of race.
- Equal protection in higher education includes access to the full educational experience, including opportunities for discussion, interaction, and intellectual exchange, not merely formal admission.
- State-imposed segregation within an integrated institution is unconstitutional when it restricts a student’s educational opportunities based on race, even if private social separation might persist absent State action.

## Conclusion

The Court held that Oklahoma’s internal segregation of an admitted Black graduate student in classrooms, the library, and the cafeteria denied equal protection because it imposed race-based barriers that materially reduced his educational opportunities within the University.


McLaurin v. Okla. State Regents for Higher Educ., 339 U.S. 637 (1950)