## Facts

- Stephen Girard’s 1831 will created a charitable trust to establish and operate a “college” for “poor white male orphans” ages six to ten.
- Girard named the City of Philadelphia as trustee; Girard College opened in 1848 and was operated pursuant to the will’s terms.
- In 1869, Pennsylvania enacted a statute creating the Board of Directors of City Trusts of the City of Philadelphia to administer such trusts, including Girard College.
- In 1954, two Black applicants, Foust and Felder, applied for admission and met all criteria except race; the Board denied admission solely because they were Black.
- The applicants petitioned the Philadelphia Orphans’ Court for admission, alleging a Fourteenth Amendment violation; the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia participated and also asserted unconstitutionality.
- The Orphans’ Court denied relief, and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania affirmed.

## Issues

1. Whether the Board operating Girard College under state statutory authority is an agency of Pennsylvania such that its conduct constitutes state action under the Fourteenth Amendment.
2. If so, whether excluding otherwise qualified applicants solely because of race violates the Equal Protection Clause.

## Decision

- The Court granted a motion to dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction, treated the filings as a petition for certiorari, granted certiorari, and reached the merits.
- The Court held that the Board operating Girard College is an agency of the State of Pennsylvania.
- The Court held that, even acting as trustee of a privately funded charitable trust, the Board’s racially based exclusion constituted discrimination by the State.
- The Court reversed the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania and remanded for further proceedings consistent with its ruling.

## Legal Principles

- A public body created and empowered by state law to administer and operate an institution acts as the State for Fourteenth Amendment purposes.
- State responsibility is not avoided because the public body is administering a private testamentary trust.
- Racial exclusion in a state-operated educational institution violates the Equal Protection Clause.

## Conclusion

Because the Board operating Girard College functioned as a state agency, its refusal to admit qualified Black applicants solely on the basis of race was unconstitutional state discrimination under the Fourteenth Amendment, requiring reversal and remand.


Pennsylvania v. Bd. of Dirs. of City Trs. of Phila., 353 U.S. 230 (1957)