Lloyd Lionel Gaines, a Lincoln University graduate, brought a lawsuit in 1935 against the segregation policies of the University of Missouri. The case was ultimately judged by the United States Supreme Court, which in 1938 ruled that because the State of Missouri did not have equal educational opportunities for blacks, Gaines had to be admitted to the University Law School. Shortly afterward Gaines disappeared. Because of his efforts, segregation in America was dealt a lethal blow, and his case led to the historic 1954 Brown v. Board of Education.
