Desegregation of Graduate Education

Sweatt v. Painter, June 5, 1950

Although earlier decisions made segregation more difficult, they did not bring about instant desegregation in North Carolina as
the state could create programs for black students rather than allowing them to enroll in pre-existing white programs. The 1950 Sweatt v. Painter decision, however, had a more immediate impact on the desegregation of graduate education as it made creating separate programs a less reliable solution. In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that even though Texas had established a law school at Texas State University, which was historically black, because this program was unaccredited and lacked the resources of the University of Texas Law School, the black school could not be considered equal to the white program. As such, it ordered the admission of Herman Sweatt to the University of Texas.

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