Iowa Supreme Court Rules on Equal Access: Portrait of Alexander Clark, 1868

Engraved portrait of Alexander Clark, Muscatine lawyer who initiated an Iowa Supreme Court case to allow his daughter to attend the white-only public school, and U.S. Ambassador to Liberia.

Courtesy of State Historical Society of Iowa (Document) / Robin, Augustus, Portrait of Alexander Clark: Engraving, New York: Date unknown (Image)

Description

On September 12, 1867, 12-year-old Susan Clark was denied admission to Muscatine's Second Ward Common School Number 2 because she was African American. Her father, Alexander Clark, a determined businessman of Muscatine, acted to resist racism and the segregation of Iowa’s schools. Clark initiated an Iowa Supreme Court case to allow his daughter to attend the white-only public school. The Iowa Supreme Court affirmed the district court's decision that children of color could not be refused admission to Iowa's district schools.

Transcript of an Excerpt from The Iowa Supreme Court Rules on Equal Access to Schools and Common Carriers

Source-Dependent Questions

What did the Iowa Supreme Court rule in Clark v. the Board of Directors?
What were the similarities and differences of the Clark family’s experience in Muscatine, Iowa, in 1867 to other stories that you’ve studied?

Citation Information

Image: Robin, Augustus, Portrait of Alexander Clark: Engraving, New York: Date unknown.
Document: Silag, Bill, Bridgford, Susan Koch & Hal Chase, Outside In: African-American History in Iowa, pg. 72-73, 2001. Courtesy of State Historical Society of Iowa