IL IL - Lloyd Gaines, 28, Chicago, 19 March 1939

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Lloyd L. Gaines
Missing since March 19, 1939 from Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
Classification: Missing


Vital Statistics
  • Date Of Birth: 1911
  • Age at Time of Disappearance: 28 years old
  • Distinguishing Characteristics: Black male. Black hair; brown eyes.

Circumstances of Disappearance
Gaines was last seen as he left his fraternity house in Chicago, Illinois on March 19, 1939. He told his housekeeper he was going out to buy some stamps. He was never seen or heard from again.
Gaines was an honors graduate of Lincoln University in Jefferson City. He was denied admission to the Law School at the University of Missouri because of his race in April 1936. His case eventually lead to the U. S. Supreme Court which handed down a decision in his favor on December 12, 1938.
Gaines never made it to Columbia. Discouraged by the state's response to the high court ruling, he moved north and earned a master's degree in economics from Michigan.
Gaines then spent several months shuttling back and forth between his hometown of St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago, struggling to earn a living - his jobs included gas station attendant.
The Civil Rights pioneer went missing before he could begin attending law school.
Gaines was granted an honorary law degree by the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2006.


http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/1387dmil.html
 
Sadly, given the circumstances, I'm inclined to think that someone who knew what he was fighting to do and was angered by it decided to take his life.

I do think it's nice, however, that he was given that honorary law degree. I know it's too little, too late, as the saying goes, but at least Lloyd was remembered so many years later and honored.
 
Sadly, given the circumstances, I'm inclined to think that someone who knew what he was fighting to do and was angered by it decided to take his life.

Yup, it was the theory back then and still is. It was still a dangerous time for high-profile civil rights activists, even in the North.
 
This breaks my heart. I feel that this young man was killed for the crime of wanting civil rights :(
 
"The Doe Network" : International Center for Unidentified & Missing Persons'
Case File: Lloyd L. Gaines - 1387DMIL




The Doe Network


LLGaines.jpg
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(mouse over to enlarge)


Lloyd L. Gaines
  • Case Classification: Missing
  • Missing Since: March 19, 1939
  • Location Last Seen: Chicago, Cook County, Illinois




Physical Description
** Listed information is from the time of disappearance.


  • Date of Birth: 1911
  • Age at Time of Disappearance: 24 yrs
  • Race: Black
  • Gender: Male
  • Height at Time of Disappearance: Unknown
  • Weight at Time of Disappearance: Unknown
  • Hair Color: Black
  • Eye Color: Brown
  • Alias(s) / Nickname(s): Unknown


  • Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown


  • Dentals: Unknown
  • Fingerprints: Unknown
  • DNA: Unknown
Clothing & Personal Items
  • Clothing: Unknown


  • Jewelry: Unknown


  • Additional Personal Items: Unknown




Circumstances of Disappearance
Gaines was last seen as he left his fraternity house in Chicago, Illinois on March 19, 1939. He told his housekeeper he was going out to buy some stamps. He was never seen or heard from again.

Gaines was an honors graduate of Lincoln University in Jefferson City. He was denied admission to the Law School at the University of Missouri because of his race in April 1936. His case eventually lead to the U. S. Supreme Court which handed down a decision in his favor on December 12, 1938. Gaines never made it to Columbia. Discouraged by the state's response to the high court ruling, he moved north and earned a master's degree in economics from Michigan. Gaines then spent several months shuttling back and forth between his hometown of St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago, struggling to earn a living - his jobs included gas station attendant .

The Civil Rights pioneer went missing before he could begin attending law school. Gaines was granted an honorary law degree by the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2006.





Investigating Agency(s)
If you have any information about this case please contact;



  • Agency Name: Unknown
  • Agency Contact Person: Unknown
  • Agency Phone Number: Unknown
  • E-Mail




  • Agency Case Number: Unknown
  • NCIC Case Number: N/A
  • NamUs Case Number: MP # N/A
Please refer to this number when contacting any agency with information regarding this case.





Information Source(s)
  • Wikipedia
  • Columbia Missourian




Return to the Missing Persons Index
Questions or comments? Please contact appropriate member of the Area Team
Last Updated: 6/20/2015 - By: BR / Webmaster

To submit an update to this case file, click here.
 
On a cool, rainy night in March 1939, a handsome, rail-thin graduate student named Lloyd Gaines threw on an overcoat and journeyed into the streets of south Chicago. On his way out, he told the door attendant that he was on a quick errand to buy some stamps. The 28-year-old Gaines was never seen or heard from again.

Just three months before he vanished, the St. Louis honors student won a pivotal United States Supreme Court decision mandating that the State of Missouri admit him into its university law school or build a separate — and equal — law school for blacks. The lawsuit, Gaines v. Canada, was filed against the University of Missouri's then-registrar, S.W. Canada.

The case helped forge the legal framework for the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark 1954 decision, Brown v. Board of Education, which banned segregation in public schools.

Friends and relatives recall Gaines as a quiet, headstrong man whose family migrated north from Mississippi in the late 1920s. As a young college student, Gaines walked the neighborhoods of north St. Louis selling magazines to help pay for his education. When his youngest sister finished eighth grade, he scraped together his meager savings to buy her a dress for graduation.

Something of a loner, Gaines was known to stay away from home for nights on end and journey off-campus without telling a soul. Discussing the disappearance years later, one of Lloyd's older brothers told a reporter, "He always kept kind to himself, so we figured he knew what he was doing and whatever he did was his own business."

Days would pass before anyone realized Gaines was missing. It would take another seven months before his disappearance became public. Newspapers across the country carried his photo. Anyone with information into his whereabouts was urged to contact the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. None of those efforts produced any solid leads.

In the weeks and months that followed, rumors circulated that Gaines had fallen into the hands of segregationist marauders — his body disposed of, never to be found. Rumors later placed him in New York, where he's said to have worked as a schoolteacher. Still more reported sightings placed Gaines in Mexico City, where he supposedly fled after taking a lucrative bribe to drop his suit.

THE Rest of the article is found on the link. There is a lot of information and interviews w family members

The Mystery of Lloyd Gaines
 
Just noticed L.L.G. is no longer listed as a Missing Person on NamUs. Any idea why? Can't find any new details on his case.

TIA
 
I didn't know he was on NamUs; I don't think he was ever on Charley Project but he is on Doe Network.
The Doe Network: Lloyd L. Gaines - 1387DMIL

My MP dashboard is missing a case, i thought it was him since i am (was) following only 3 MP cases there and i know exactly who they are (or i thought i knew). Maybe i misclicked something... I'll have to figure it out now.
Thanks for your reply.

MOO JMO
 

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