The staff of the Lincoln University Archives and Ethnic Studies Center is proud to present an exhibit honoring Lincoln University alumnus Lloyd Lionel Gaines.

Mr. Gaines, a soft-spoken and reserved man, had a goal of attending the University of Missouri School of Law following his graduation with a bachelors in History from Lincoln University. Told that he would not be admitted due to the color of his skin, Gaines remained determined and, with the aid of the legal team of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, was able to change the course of education in the United States.

In addition to the main exhibit, three smaller presentations are featured in this display. Letters that Lloyd Gaines had written to his brother George and his mother reveal much of the inner emotions, feelings and concerns that Gaines had during the period of his legal actions. Three panels depict the Lincoln University School of Law, a byproduct of the Gaines decision that provided law education for African-Americans. The final section of the exhibit features a timeline of the significant cases from the establishment of the "separate but equal" policy up to the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision that affected opportunity in American education.