Letter from Pauli Murray to Dean Henry J. Brandis Jr. inquiring about graduate coursework in Law at UNC, 17 May 1951
In 1949, Harold T. Epps and Robert D. Glass sued the university for denying their applications to the Law School because of their race. They argued North Carolina College's School of Law in Durham did not provide equal educational opportunities, resources, and facilities compared to those at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). Thus, the students argued, the law schools were separate and unequal. The federal district court ruled against Epps and his fellow students.
Despite this roadblock, the legal battle continued. Simultaneously, UNC faced increasing pressure to integrate. Yale University proposed that the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) retract memberships for schools that refused to integrate. Indiana University proposed that AALS should encourage member schools to integrate. Letters between Dean Henry P. Brandis Jr. and Chancellor House reveal resistance to such integration measures. At the UNC Board of Trustees’ meeting on April 4, 1951, the Board decided that the dean of each professional school determines their own admissions rules.
This decision prompted Pauli Murray to write to Dean Brandis and Dr. Gordon Gray, the President of the Law School requesting the latest course catalog and inquire about how the Board of Trustees’ decision would impact her potential admission to UNC's Law School.
Letter from Dean Henry Brandis Jr. to Chancellor R.B. House regarding Law School admissions applications from J. Kenneth Lee, Harvey E. Beech, William C. Chance, Jr., and Pauli Murray, 21 May 1951
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit decided on March 27, 1951 in McKissick et al. vs. Carmichael et al. that UNC must integrate its Law School writing: “Our examination of the undisputed facts of the case convinces us that the Negro School is clearly inferior to the white, and that the judgment must therefore be reversed in accordance with the decision in Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629, 70 S.Ct. 848, 94 L.Ed. 1114, which was rendered prior to the trial of the pending case in the District Court.”
The UNC Law School stood firm in preventing Black students like Murray from enrolling in courses. The university filed an appeal after the March 27th decision. Dr. Brandis and Chancellor Robert B. House corresponded about Murray and three other Black applicants, J. Kenneth Lee, Harvey E. Beech, and William C. Chance, Jr. stating each student’s rejection was officially unrelated to their race. However, grouping these four students despite their varying questions and educational goals makes it clear that the Law School was intentionally discriminating against Black applicants.
Letter from Dean Henry Brandis Jr. to Pauli Murray stating the UNC-Chapel Hill Law School does not offer graduate coursework in Law, 6 June 1951
On 4 June 1951, the U.S. Supreme Court denied hearing UNC's appeal. The School of Law would have to integrate. Two days later, Dean Brandis replied to Murray stating that her application would be rejected because the Law School did not offer graduate classes in law.
Harvey Beech, James Lassiter, J. Kenneth Lee, Floyd McKissick, and James Robert Walker enrolled in classes in June 1951 and became the first Black students to attend UNC.
Murray went on to complete a Master of Law Degree at the University of California at Berkeley. Murray continued her legal career as a lawyer for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).