United States v. Fordice

Facts

Mississippi established its public university system in 1848, beginning with the University of Mississippi exclusively for white students. By 1950, the state had eight public universities: five exclusively white institutions (University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, Mississippi University for Women, University of Southern Mississippi, and Delta State University) and three exclusively black institutions (Alcorn State University, Jackson State University, and Mississippi Valley State University). Despite the Supreme Court’s decisions in Brown I and Brown II, Mississippi’s policy of de jure segregation continued, with the first black student not admitted to the University of Mississippi until 1962, and only by court order. In 1981, the state assigned different “missions” to its universities, classifying the historically white comprehensive universities at the top of the hierarchy with the broadest academic offerings. By the mid-1980s, the universities remained largely segregated, with over 99% of white students attending historically white institutions and 71% of black students attending historically black institutions. The state maintained policies including differential admissions standards based on ACT scores, program duplication between historically white and historically black institutions, and mission designations that perpetuated the racial identifiability of its institutions.