Gaines v. Canada was a significant legal case in Black history that took place in 1938. Lloyd Gaines, an African American graduate of Lincoln University in Missouri, applied to the University of Missouri School of Law but was denied admission because of his race. Gaines filed a lawsuit against the registrar of the University of Missouri, S.W. Canada, arguing that the university's rejection of his application on the basis of race violated his rights under the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The case eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, which ruled in a landmark decision that states that provided education for white students must also provide in-state education for Black students, either by admitting them to existing institutions or creating separate but equal facilities. This decision laid the groundwork for the eventual overturning of the "separate but equal" doctrine in the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954.

Gaines v. Canada was a crucial step in the legal battle for educational equality and civil rights for African Americans in the United States. Lloyd Gaines' bravery in challenging segregation in higher education helped to pave the way for future generations of Black students to gain access to quality educational opportunities.