Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher challenged the legal term “separate but equal” and protested the state of Oklahoma’s segregation laws to fulfill her dream of becoming a lawyer.
Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher 1924 – 1995
Civil Rights Activist/Educator
Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher challenged the legal term “separate but equal” and protested the state of Oklahoma’s segregation laws to fulfill her dream of becoming a lawyer. Fisher laid the groundwork for the Brown v. Board of Education groundbreaking decision, paving the way for African-American students to attain higher education in the state of Oklahoma.In 1946, Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher became the plaintiff in a landmark United States Supreme Court case that ruled that the state of Oklahoma must provide an education to African-Americans equal to that of whites. It took two rulings from the Supreme Court for Oklahoma to open its law school to African-Americans and to eliminate “colored” seating in the classroom. Fisher was the first African-American woman to attend an all-white law school in the South.
So right. Without her case, the momentum of the civil rights movement would have been slowed by years. A great accomplishment. A similar suit in Texas led to the formation of Texas Southern University, where I worked 30 years among brilliant people.
