From S. W. Canada to Lucile H. Bluford

Letter from S. W. Canada, University of Missouri registrar, to Lucile Bluford, regarding her application to the university. He writes that she was accepted prior to the university learning of her race, and notes that "if such fact had been known then you would have been immediately advised ... that you could not be admitted." He also writes that the decision in the Lloyd Gaines case at the Supreme Court has not yet been finalized and thus does not impact their admissions decisions. Gaines, a young black Missouri man, sought admission to the University of Missouri's law school and was rejected on the basis of his race. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court, which decided in December 1938 that if only one school existed, students of all races must be admitted. Lincoln University established a law school for black students that opened in September 1939.