South Carolina State University School of Law
Encyclopedia
The South Carolina State University School of Law was a law school at South Carolina State University
in Orangeburg, South Carolina
, that existed from 1947 until 1966.
The school came about because of the refusal by South Carolina leaders to integrate the University of South Carolina School of Law
, which for many years was the state’s only institution for legal education.
In 1946, John Howard Wrighten III, a black World War II veteran, applied for admission to USC Law School. Wrighten, however, was denied because of his race.
He filed suit in 1946 and was represented by four attorneys, including Thurgood Marshall
, who later became an associate justice of the US Supreme Court, according to a story in the Orangeburg Times and Democrat.
In July 1946, a District Court ruling held that “a Negro resident of South Carolina was entitled to the same opportunity and facilities afforded to white residents for obtaining a legal education by and in the state.”
Judge J. Waties Waring gave the state of South Carolina three options: that the University of South Carolina admit Wrighten, that the state open a black law school or that the white law school at USC be closed.
Rather than integrate the University of South Carolina or close it down, the South Carolina General Assembly
authorized the establishment of a law school at South Carolina State, then officially known as the Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina.
The school opened in 1947 with eight students. Eventually, 50 men and one woman would go to graduate from the law school during its two decades of operation. Its graduates included Matthew J. Perry, who would go on to become the first black lawyer from the Deep South to be appointed to the federal judiciary, and Ernest A. Finney Jr., former chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court
.
The end came when the University of South Carolina School of Law finally began admitting black students in 1964. Enrollment quickly dwindled at South Carolina State’s law school and it closed in June 1966.
The South Carolina State School of Law left a lasting legacy despite its short existence: It trained a group of black attorneys who would go on to challenge segregation, discrimination and inequality in public education during the 1960s, according to R. Scott Baker in Paradoxes of Education: African American Struggles for Educational Equity in Charleston South Carolina, 1926-1972.
In 2005, S.C. Senator Robert Ford introduced a bill to create a study committee to consider the feasibility of establishing a law school at South Carolina State.
At the time, the cost of a law school at S.C. State was estimated at $8 million to build the facility, $500,000 a year for faculty salaries and $125,000 a year for administrative salaries.
South Carolina State University
South Carolina State University is a historically black university located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only state funded, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina and is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.- Colleges, departments,...
in Orangeburg, South Carolina
Orangeburg, South Carolina
Orangeburg, also known as "The Garden City," is the principal city in and the county seat of Orangeburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city is also the fifth oldest city in the state of South Carolina. The city population was 12,765 at the 2000 census, within a Greater Orangeburg...
, that existed from 1947 until 1966.
The school came about because of the refusal by South Carolina leaders to integrate the University of South Carolina School of Law
University of South Carolina School of Law
The University of South Carolina School of Law, also known as South Carolina Law or SC Law, is one of the professional schools of the University of South Carolina. South Carolina Law was founded in 1867 in Columbia, South Carolina and is the only public and non-profit law school in the state of...
, which for many years was the state’s only institution for legal education.
In 1946, John Howard Wrighten III, a black World War II veteran, applied for admission to USC Law School. Wrighten, however, was denied because of his race.
He filed suit in 1946 and was represented by four attorneys, including Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
, who later became an associate justice of the US Supreme Court, according to a story in the Orangeburg Times and Democrat.
In July 1946, a District Court ruling held that “a Negro resident of South Carolina was entitled to the same opportunity and facilities afforded to white residents for obtaining a legal education by and in the state.”
Judge J. Waties Waring gave the state of South Carolina three options: that the University of South Carolina admit Wrighten, that the state open a black law school or that the white law school at USC be closed.
Rather than integrate the University of South Carolina or close it down, the South Carolina General Assembly
South Carolina General Assembly
The South Carolina General Assembly, also called the South Carolina Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The legislature is bicameral and consists of the lower South Carolina House of Representatives and the upper South Carolina Senate. Altogether, the General...
authorized the establishment of a law school at South Carolina State, then officially known as the Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina.
The school opened in 1947 with eight students. Eventually, 50 men and one woman would go to graduate from the law school during its two decades of operation. Its graduates included Matthew J. Perry, who would go on to become the first black lawyer from the Deep South to be appointed to the federal judiciary, and Ernest A. Finney Jr., former chief justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court
South Carolina Supreme Court
The South Carolina Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The court is composed of a Chief Justice and four Associate Justices.-Selection of Justices:...
.
The end came when the University of South Carolina School of Law finally began admitting black students in 1964. Enrollment quickly dwindled at South Carolina State’s law school and it closed in June 1966.
The South Carolina State School of Law left a lasting legacy despite its short existence: It trained a group of black attorneys who would go on to challenge segregation, discrimination and inequality in public education during the 1960s, according to R. Scott Baker in Paradoxes of Education: African American Struggles for Educational Equity in Charleston South Carolina, 1926-1972.
In 2005, S.C. Senator Robert Ford introduced a bill to create a study committee to consider the feasibility of establishing a law school at South Carolina State.
At the time, the cost of a law school at S.C. State was estimated at $8 million to build the facility, $500,000 a year for faculty salaries and $125,000 a year for administrative salaries.