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Publication Date

2012

Abstract

This Essay examines the struggle to desegregate the
University of Georgia (UGA) in the context of the broader
strategies to defeat segregation in higher education. In
doing so, this Essay explores Horace T. Ward's struggle to
enroll in UGA School of Law in Ward v. Regents, the first
lawsuit in Georgia history to attempt to dismantle the
centuries-old practice of segregation at UGA. The Essay
then examines the Holmes v. Danner case, which led to the
admission of the first African-American students at UGA
and the dismantling of segregation statewide in Georgia's
public colleges and universities.
Building upon this backdrop, this Essay draws upon
these cases and others within the history of desegregation
and civil rights to illustrate how the issue of race cannot
be detached from the continued struggle for equality in
education. With this in mind, the Essay argues that the
cases involving UGA, added to the broader narrative of
the battle to achieve racial equality in higher education,
offer additional perspectives on why courts should give
pause when rejecting the necessity of considering race in
educational policies aimed at reducing segregation and
inequality. The history and present teach us that race
must be accounted for to effectively confront contemporary
barriers to educational equality and the lingering

discrimination that affects some ethnic and gender groups
in America.

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