Overview
1976 Missouri Amendment 5 was a proposed amendment to the Constitution of Missouri to repeal the state's defunct provision requiring separate schools for white and colored children. The amendment was symbolic, as school segregation had been federally illegal since Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. Placed on the ballot by SJR 40 and HJR 64, the measure was approved with 57.53% of the vote, though 56 of the state's 114 counties voted against. Supporters included state senators Franklin Payne and Maurice Schechter, while the amendment faced no organized opposition.