Mississippi has reached a $500 million settlement of a civil rights lawsuit brought more than 25 years ago by a group of black residents to desegregate the state's public colleges and universities. The class-action lawsuit alleged Mississippi maintained policies that discriminated against blacks who attended its historically white universities, and created inferior educational opportunities at historically black universities.

The case produced a 1992 US Supreme Court ruling in which the justices rejected Mississippi's argument that adopting race-neutral policies satisfied its obligation to dismantle a higher education system that once had been segregated. The high court said Mississippi must reform its existing policies that continue to have discriminatory effects, and must adopt appropriate remedies.