Black students Clara Dell Constantine, Martha Jane Conway, Charles Vincent Singleton, and Shirley Taylor were denied admission to Southwestern Louisiana Institute (SLI). The institute’s President told the students, "Sorry, but SLI  is an all-white college.” This was not enough to stop the students from trying again. On January 4, 1954, the NAACP filed a lawsuit on their behalf. The NAACP argued that the students’ Fourteenth Amendment Rights were being violated because there were regional colleges for white students all over Louisiana but nowhere near as many for the state’s Black students. This meant that Black students were expected to travel farther and thus had to pay more for transportation. Some also faced extra expenses for room and board in situations where daily travel was too difficult. Two months after the Brown v. Board of Education decision was made, the court ruled in favor of the students and stated that SLI was not allowed to deny admission to any student because of their race. This was a huge win.  The students in the case enrolled, and so did around 75 additional Black students. The next year even more Black students enrolled!