Lincoln University Students Sue Missouri Over Decades of Alleged Land-Grant Underfunding

Students and alumni of Lincoln University have launched a federal civil rights lawsuit against the state of Missouri, claiming decades of systemic underfunding of the historically Black land-grant institution. Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, the suit accuses state leadership of failing to provide equitable state backing compared to the University of Missouri.

The legal action marks the first case brought forward by the 1890 Project, an organization dedicated to monitoring whether state governments fulfill statutory funding obligations mandated under the Second Morrill Act of 1890. That federal legislation created land-grant institutions specifically to educate Black students following the original 1862 Morrill Act, which primarily benefited white institutions.

According to reporting by NewsOne and The New York Times, federal data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture revealed that Missouri appropriated $361.6 million less per student to Lincoln University than to the University of Missouri between 1987 and 2020. Land-grant status entitles universities to state matching funds intended for research, instruction, and community extension programs.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit include four current Lincoln University students, a former student, and a university alumnus. Named defendants in the action include the state of Missouri, the state board of higher education, and three state officials. Lincoln University itself is not listed as a party to the litigation.

Plaintiffs are represented by attorney and former Missouri legislator Don Calloway. Speaking to The New York Times, Calloway emphasized that the historical nature of the funding gap does not excuse the state from addressing its current consequences. He noted that the ongoing impact of underfunding remains very present today and characterized the funding gap as a clear breach of state statutory and contractual obligations.

The lawsuit forms part of a broader national pattern of land-grant underfunding documented by federal authorities. In 2023, the Biden administration alerted 16 states that they had collectively shortchanged historically Black land-grant universities by more than $12 billion over several decades. According to federal officials, Delaware and Ohio were the only two states fulfilling their legal funding duties during that timeframe.

Through the lawsuit, the plaintiffs are asking the federal court to issue a binding remedy requiring Missouri to fund Lincoln University at levels that permanently satisfy its federal land-grant commitments.

State leadership has so far refrained from commenting on the pending legal matter. Official representatives for the offices of Missouri's governor and attorney general declined requests for comment, according to reports. Lincoln University leadership also stated that the institution had no comment on the lawsuit.