Young Troy and Loucreta Mullins wanted to attend their local whites-only school in Pike County, Kentucky. Edmond Belcher, trustee of the school district, told the Mullins children they couldn’t attend because they were “colored.”  This was the term used at that time to describe Black people. Miles Ratliff, the children’s guardian, sued. Ratliff argued that to be considered Black, the Mullins children must not only have “colored blood” but must also possess the visible "racial characteristics" of a Black person. The Mullins children looked white. The court ruled that physical appearance didn’t need to be considered and that being colored simply meant having "appreciable admixture" of Black “blood,” meaning ancestry. Because the Mullins children were 1/16 Black, they lost the case and were denied admission. [125 words]