1920's Education | Gong Lum v. Rice

Supreme Court decision

By: William Howard Taft

Date: 1927

Source: Gong Lum v. Rice. 275 U.S. 78 (1927).

About the Author: William Howard Taft (1857–1930) served as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from 1921 to 1930. He graduated from Cincinnati Law School and earned a bachelor's degree from Yale University. Prior to being nominated to the Supreme Court, he served as Solicitor General, civilian governor of the Philippines, Secretary of War, joint chairman of the War Labor Board, and president of the United States (served 1909–1913). No one else has ever held the offices of both a chief justice and president.

Introduction

In 1924, a Mississippi child, Martha Lum, began attending Rosedale Consolidated High School, a school reserved for whites, at the start of the academic year. At lunchtime on her first day, she was told she would not be allowed to...