In the 1899 case of Cumming v. Richmond County Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a local school board's decision to close a black high school due to fiscal constraints, despite maintaining an operational white high school. The plaintiffs, African American taxpayers from Augusta and Richmond County in Georgia, argued that this action violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights by denying them equal protection under law based on race. However, the court held that as long as there were no allegations or proofs showing ill-will or hostility towards one race by public authorities who made such decisions about educational facilities allocation and management - it was not unconstitutional for states to provide different types of education for different races within its jurisdiction. This ruling essentially upheld racial segregation in schools until it was later overturned by Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.

In the case of Cumming v. Richmond County Board of Education, there was no dissenting opinion recorded. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of the Richmond County Board of Education, upholding their decision to close a black high school due to financial reasons and allowing white students to continue attending a separate school. The court held that as long as there were provisions for educating black students at some level (even if not equal), it did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause.