3.3 Lloyd Gaines

Although Canada did not have the ultimate authority to reject Gaines’ application, the chances for Lloyd were bleak; it appeared that the School of Law at MU would not accept him. His only other choice was to abide by a Missouri statute which allowed for blacks to apply for a scholarship to attend a school in a neighboring state if the desired program was not offered at Lincoln University. Lloyd was a citizen of Missouri and he was determined to be educated in his home state.

1.1 Lloyd Gaines

Lloyd Gaines had won his case. Speaking to reporters, Gaines said he was pleased with the result and looked forward to attending the Missouri School of Law in the fall of 1939. The Gaines v Canada decision was a major triumph and significant steppingstone for the Civil Rights movement. No longer did African-Americans in Missouri have to choose to be educated elsewhere when seeking degrees not offered to them in their home state. This was decided in the Murray v Pearson case three years prior, but the Gaines case had national implications since it was decided by the US Supreme Court.