ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Lum v. Rice

Okay kiddo, I'll try my best to explain Lum v. Rice to you.

Lum v. Rice is a famous court case that happened in the United States many years ago. It was about a little girl named Mamie, who was Chinese-American and lived in California. Mamie wanted to go to school with her white friends, but there was a law that said she had to go to a different school just because she was Chinese.

Mamie's dad, Mr. Lum, was upset about this unfair law and decided to take it to court. He argued that the law was not fair because it was discriminating against his daughter because of her race. He wanted Mamie to be able to go to the same school as her friends, no matter what her race was.

The case went all the way to the California Supreme Court, which is a very important court. The judges there agreed with Mr. Lum and said that the law was not fair. They said that Mamie and all other children should be able to go to the same school, regardless of their race.

This was a big win for the people who wanted to end racial discrimination in schools. It helped pave the way for other laws like the Civil Rights Act, which made it illegal to discriminate against people because of their race.

So, in short, Lum v. Rice was a court case about a little girl who wanted to attend the same school as her friends, but was being discriminated against because of her race. Her family fought against this injustice and won, which helped make things fairer for everyone.