Lloyd Gaines, a valedictorian and aspiring lawyer, made history in the 1930s when he challenged the University of Missouri School of Law’s rejection due to segregation laws, leading to a landmark Supreme Court case.
Gaines, who attended Lincoln University, applied to the University of Missouri School of Law but was denied admission because Missouri law mandated segregated education. With the support of the NAACP, Gaines filed a lawsuit against the university, resulting in the Gaines v. Canada case in 1938.