This Month in History: Gong Lum et al. v. Rice et al.
In November of 1927, the United States Supreme Court affirmed a decision that upheld the ruling of Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) and further entrenched the status quo of segregated schools and public spaces. Martha Lum was a nine-year old Chinese-American, born and raised in the state of Mississippi. In September 1924, she wished to attend her local school in Rosedale, Mississippi, but was informed upon recess of her first day that she could no longer attend.
Her father, Gong Lum, sued the school, but did not attempt to test the legality of racial discrimination. That would not come for another 27 years, with the landmark Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954. Instead, Mr. Lum argued that his daughter has been incorrectly classified as “colored.” Cultural perspectives of the period, however, did not shine favorably on Lum’s case, as hundreds of recent immigrants from Southern and Eastern Asia as well as the Asian Pacific islands were being turned away in ports of entry, or drawing the ire of certain groups and individuals who feared what effect this immigration might have on their own economic and cultural interests.
Chief Justice William H. Taft delivered the opinion of the court, excerpted below:
“If the plaintiff desires, she may attend the colored public schools of her district, or, if she does not so desire, she may go to a private school. The compulsory school law of this state does not require the attendance at a public school, and a parent under the decisions of the Supreme Court of the United States has a right to educate his child in a private school if he so desires. But plaintiff is not entitled to attend a white public school.” (1)
The court ruled that individuals of the “yellow race” were grouped together with the “brown and black races,” and that they could not legally claim to be “white” for the sake of schooling or otherwise. Aside from suggesting a private school, the court also noted the availability of “colored schools” that were “easily accessible” to every child in the state. The unanimous ruling of the Supreme Court reasoned that the absence of a specific Chinese or Asian American school did not entitle nine-year old Martha Lum to attend the county’s white school. Martha Lum was nearly thirteen years old when the case was concluded.
Sources:
- FindLaw – Cases and Codes. http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=275&page=78
Using rice cookers guarantees that you won’t have any more sticky rice or hard rice that is underdone.
Rice cookers have different settings that automatically adjust the temperature and time to cook rice to perfection.
Then they even switch to warming mode for just the right serving temperature.
What happened to Martha Lum? Is she still alive?