Bluford vs. Canada, Civil Action No. 128: Civil Subpena Duces Tecum for Mrs. Alberta Rankins
Civil subpoena duces tecum issued in Civil Case No. 128: Lucile Bluford v. S.W. Canada to Mrs. Alberta Rankins, secretary to the board of curators of Lincoln University. She is commanded to appear in District Court on April 23, 1942, as a witness for the plaintiff, and to produce "all minutes and records of the board of curators" beginning in July 1940 related to the establishment of a school of journalism at Lincoln, as well as records and correspondence related to Lucile Bluford applying for graduate work in journalism. At the time, Bluford was the managing editor of the Kansas City Call and her effort to gain admittance to the masters degree program at MU's School of Journalism, and repeated denials due to her race, lead to a a series of lawsuits that eventually reached the Missouri Supreme Court.