James R. Hare wanted his children to attend a white school. The Board of Education of Gates County claimed Hare’s children were Black and refused them. Hare sued. Hare’s wife was white. His mother was also a white woman, but she was not married when she became pregnant with him. Long ago, Hare’s mother had told him that his father was a white man named Elbert Matthews. In this case, however, several people testified that Hare’s father was actually a Black or mixed-race man named Charles Jones and that Hare’s mother had lived with Jones about nine months before Hare’s birth. Hare brought two of his children before the jury for their inspection, but under cross-examination, he admitted he had darker-skinned children at home. The court suggested the children’s ancestry was most important, and the main issue was whether Hare’s father was white or Black. The burden to prove whiteness fell to Hare, and the jury was not satisfied with his proof. They sided with the Board. Hare appealed. The appellate court affirmed the lower court’s ruling, and Hare lost the case.