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Biography · Civil Rights & Community

Heman Marion Sweatt

1912–1982

United States

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Biography

Heman Marion Sweatt (December 11, 1912 – October 3, 1982) was an African-American civil rights activist who confronted Jim Crow laws. He is best known for the Sweatt v. Painter lawsuit, which challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine and was one of the earliest of the events that led to the desegregation of American higher education.

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Biography text · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

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