Gong Lum v. Rice 275 U.S. 78 (1927)

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GONG LUM v. RICE 275 U.S. 78 (1927)

Classifying a youngster of Chinese ancestry as "colored," thereby compelling her to attend a black school, did not deny her equal protection under the fourteenth amendment. By so ruling, a unanimous Supreme Court upheld a Mississippi decision. The Court declined to consider the issue at length; citing roberts v. boston (Massachusetts, 1850) and plessy v. ferguson (1896), the Court concluded that precedent had clearly established a state's right to settle such issues of racial segregation without "intervention of the federal courts."

David Gordon
(1986)