Bolling v. Sharpe

Bolling (plaintiff) and other African-American students challenged the constitutionality of racial segregation in the District of Columbia's public schools. Because the District is federal, the Fourteenth Amendment's Equal Protection Clause-which binds only the states-did not directly apply. The district court dismissed the complaint, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari (a companion to Brown v. Board of Education).

Whether racial segregation in the public schools of the District of Columbia violates the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment.