Bluford vs. Canada, Civil Action No. 42: Memorandum Opinion

Memorandum opinion in Civil Action No. 42: Lucile Bluford v. S.W. Canada, regarding the defendant's motion to dismiss the case. Judge J. C. Collet sustains the motion to dismiss, writing that because Missouri "has made provision for equal educational facilities for negroes" and has authorities mandated to provide those facilities, Bluford "may not complain that defendant has deprived her of her constitutional rights until she has applied to the proper authorities for those rights and been unlawfully refused." Because Bluford had not made "proper application" to Lincoln University, she was ineligible for legal recourse. At the time, Bluford was the managing editor of the Kansas City Call and her effort to gain admittance to the masters degree program at MU's School of Journalism, and repeated denials due to her race, lead to a a series of lawsuits that eventually reached the Missouri Supreme Court.