Berea College v. Kentucky

Background

Berea College, a private college incorporated under Kentucky law, was prosecuted under a 1904 state law that made it unlawful for white and Black people to attend the same school. The college was convicted, fined $1,000, and the Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld most of the law while striking down one provision about separate branches. The college’s charter showed the legislature had reserved power to alter or repeal corporate charters.

Reasoning

The only federal question before the Court was whether the state law violated the U.S. Constitution. Writing for the majority, the Court accepted the state court’s non‑constitutional ground — that a state may limit powers it grants to its own corporations — and treated the statute as separable so it could be upheld as applied to state‑chartered corporations. Justices Holmes and Moody agreed with the judgment.

Real world impact

The practical result is that the college’s conviction and fines were left in place and that Kentucky may enforce its ban against integrated instruction when it applies to corporations chartered by the State. The decision does not fully resolve whether individuals or unincorporated groups face the same restriction; that issue was left open or treated differently by state and federal judges.

Dissents or concurrances

Justice Harlan (joined by Justice Day) dissented, arguing the law was an arbitrary invasion of liberty and property protected by the Fourteenth Amendment and that the entire statute should be declared void because it criminalized harmless instruction of Black and white pupils together.