In the case of Regents of the University System of Georgia v. Carroll et al., 1949, the U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of three African-American students who were denied admission to a white-only university due to their race. The court held that this was a violation of their Fourteenth Amendment rights which guarantees equal protection under law and prohibits states from denying any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection under law. This decision marked an important step towards ending racial segregation in public education institutions across America.

In the dissenting opinion for Regents of the University System of Georgia v. Carroll et al., Justice Robert H. Jackson disagreed with the majority's decision to uphold a state law that allowed public universities to deny admission based on race or color. He argued that this was in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment, which guarantees equal protection under the law and prohibits states from denying any person within their jurisdiction these rights without due process. Jackson contended that education is not merely a privilege granted by states but rather an essential right necessary for effective participation in modern society and democracy, thus it should be equally accessible regardless of race or color. Furthermore, he criticized segregation as inherently unequal because it stigmatizes those who are segregated and creates feelings of inferiority among them.