In 1949, Ada Lois Sipuel Fisher became the first African American student admitted to OU Law. Her admission to law school, however, was preceded by a three-year legal battle. At the time of her application to OU’s law school in 1946, Oklahoma schools were segregated, and she was denied admission on racial grounds. With the support of civic leaders and grassroots supporters, Fisher, along with her attorney Thurgood Marshall, challenged the decision through the court system, ultimately reaching the U.S. Supreme Court, which would ultimately rule unanimously in her favor. Fisher was finally admitted to the OU College of Law on June 18, 1949. Her landmark case laid the groundwork for the elimination of segregation in public education nationwide.