The Oklahoma Bar Journal September 2024
On June 18, 1949, Ms. Sipuel was enrolled in the law school at OU. When school started, she was instructed to sit in a designated seat, which was separated by a heavy chain from the seats of the other members of the class. The chain held a large sign that read, “For Colored.” While attending OU Law School, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in McLaurin v. The Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education in which the court agreed that the restriction that segregated Black students from white students impaired and inhibited the ability to learn and struck down the practice. After that time, Ms. Sipuel was able to join the other students at the OU Law School and gradu ated in 1952. She passed the bar exam and began practicing in Chickasha, her hometown. She later practiced in an Oklahoma City law firm and, in 1956, was hired by Langston University as a faculty member, where she spent approximately 20 years. While at
attempt made to create a Langston University Law School at the state Capitol. Three white attorneys were hired to comprise the law school faculty in an attempt to create a “separate but equal” law school. On March 15, 1948, Mr. Hall filed a motion in the District Court of Cleveland County that contended that Langston University Law School did not afford advantages for legal educa tion to Black students substantially equal to those afforded to white students at the OU School of Law. Ms. Sipuel was again denied admission at the district court level and appealed her decision to the State Supreme Court. The State Supreme Court heard the appeal and ruled against Ms. Sipuel. Once again, Ms. Sipuel’s attorneys appealed the ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Oklahoma attorney general determined there was no chance of winning before the U.S. Supreme Court and advised the Board of Regents that he would not return to Washington and, therefore, the case should be settled.
Langston, she also served as chair of the Department of Social Sciences and as assistant vice president for academic affairs. In 1992, Gov. David Walters appointed her to the OU Board of Regents, which she noted in an interview “completes a forty-five year cycle.” She further stated, “Having suffered severely from bigotry and racial discrimination as a student, I am sensitive to that kind of thing,” and she said she planned to bring a new dimension to university policies. Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher died Oct. 18, 1995.
Statements or opinions expressed in the Oklahoma Bar Journal are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Oklahoma Bar Association, its officers, Board of Governors, Board of Editors or staff.
SEPTEMBER 2024 | 47
THE OKLAHOMA BAR JOURNAL
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