On September 11, 1946, Leon A. Norris, a young Black man, applied to the Maryland Institute for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts for admission to the art and art teacher training programs. His application was declined because, for fifty years, the institute had maintained a policy of admitting only white students. Norris filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Maryland because he believed this violated the 14th Amendment of the Federal Constitution. He asked that the institute be prohibited from denying him because of his race and that he be admitted as a student. He also asked that if he didn't win this relief, the Mayor and City Council of Baltimore (defendants) be prohibited from financially supporting the Art Institute because it was a private corporation. The defendants argued that Norris was not entitled to anything he requested. The Court ruled that neither the city nor the state controlled any affairs of the Institute. No city or state officials were members of the Institute or its Board of Directors, and therefore, the Maryland Institute was not part of the public school system. The Court concluded by suggesting that this lawsuit was patterned after the successful Kerr v. Enoch (1945) case. In the Kerr case, the institute was public, but in this case, it was private. The court suggested this act of discrimination did not constitute “state action,” and Norris lost the case. [238 words]