Black Leaders: Texans for Their Times Page: 159
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Texans for Their Times 159
Maryland law school. In 1938 Lloyd L. Gaines won the right to attend
the University of Missouri law school, but he vanished after the
Supreme Court's decision and thus prevented a proper resolution of
the case. Although the circumstances of his disappearance are uncer-
tain, several NAACP lawyers believed that he had deserted them at a
crucial moment. If Ada Sipuel Fisher earned her attorneys' esteem for
her role as a plaintiff, George W. McLaurin's conduct during his
lawsuit was a keen disappointment to the NAACP. His deficient
academic performance, repeated demands for money, and unim-
pressive courtroom testimony made him less than the ideal plaintiff.3
In Texas a challenge was long overdue. The University of Texas's
ranking law school was preeminent in legal education within the state
and its alumni included an impressive array of leading lawyers,
jurists, and politicians. Desegregating the institution had been a chief
objective of NAACP leaders since their establishment of a statewide
organization in 1937. But only after the successful Smith v. Allwright
litigation against the Democratic white primary did the association
focus its attention on the fight for equal education. Even then
NAACP officials searched for a qualified plaintiff for almost a year
before a volunteer actually applied.4
The Texas State Conference of NAACP Branches launched the
endeavor early in 1945, when its executive committee assigned
William J. Durham, its resident counsel, to prepare an opinion on
the possibility of a suit against the university. On April 9, A. Maceo
Smith, the state's NAACP leader and executive secretary, sent
Thurgood Marshall a copy of Durham's brief to review and declared
that the State Conference was now ready for legal action. Requesting
Marshall to come to Texas, Smith added that "we want to go about it
in the same manner that we handled the Texas Primary Case."'
Simultaneously, Carter W. Wesley, publisher of the Houston
Informer, took the initiative through other organizations. In March
the Southern and Western regions of the Negro Newspaper
Publishers Association met in Jackson, Mississippi. Resolving to work
toward equalization of opportunities at all educational levels, the
conferees denounced the principle of dual school systems. They also
outlined plans for a second meeting to be held in Memphis under the
auspices of the Southern Negro Conference for Equalization of
Education, an organization headed by Wesley. With the intention of
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Barr, Alwyn & Calvert, Robert A. Black Leaders: Texans for Their Times, book, 2007; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth296839/m1/170/?q=1966+yearbook+north+texas+state+university: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.