Which case concluded that Sweatt's attempt to enter the University of Texas Law School was unequal to the white law school?

Which case concluded that Sweatt's attempt to enter the University of Texas Law School was unequal to the white law school?

• A. Sweatt v. Painter
• B. Brown v. Board of Education
• C. Plessy v. Ferguson
• D. Dred Scott v. Sandford

Answer: (A)

Equal protection in education means real equality in opportunities, not just separate facilities. In Sweatt v. Painter, the Supreme Court held that creating a separate Negro law school to serve Heman Sweatt did not provide an equal education to the white University of Texas Law School. The Black law school lacked the resources and opportunities of the white school—fewer faculty, a weaker library, and limited professional networks—so it was not truly equal. Because true equality wasn’t being provided, the Court ruled that Sweatt could not be kept out of the white law school based on race, and it ordered that he be admitted or that the separate black option be made truly equivalent (which effectively pushed toward integration). This case challenged the idea of “separate but equal” in higher education and helped set the stage for later desegregation, including Brown v. Board of Education.

Equal protection in education means real equality in opportunities, not just separate facilities. In Sweatt v. Painter, the Supreme Court held that creating a separate Negro law school to serve Heman Sweatt did not provide an equal education to the white University of Texas Law School. The Black law school lacked the resources and opportunities of the white school—fewer faculty, a weaker library, and limited professional networks—so it was not truly equal. Because true equality wasn’t being provided, the Court ruled that Sweatt could not be kept out of the white law school based on race, and it ordered that he be admitted or that the separate black option be made truly equivalent (which effectively pushed toward integration). This case challenged the idea of “separate but equal” in higher education and helped set the stage for later desegregation, including Brown v. Board of Education.