Thurgood Marshall

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American judge and first African-American U.S. Supreme Court Justice

Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American lawyer and civil rights activist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from October 1967 until October 1991. Marshall was the Court's first African-American justice. Prior to his judicial service, he successfully argued several cases before the Supreme Court, including the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education.

Early Life and Education

Thurgood Marshall was born Thoroughgood Marshall on July 2, 1908, in Baltimore, Maryland. He was the great-grandson of a slave. Marshall attended Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore and graduated a year early in 1925. He then attended Lincoln University, a historically black university in Pennsylvania. Among his classmates were poet Langston Hughes and musician Cab Calloway.

Marshall graduated from Lincoln University in 1930 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He then attended the Howard University School of Law, where he was mentored by Charles Hamilton Houston, the vice-dean of the law school. Marshall graduated first in his class in 1933.

Legal Career

After graduating from law school, Marshall began a private law practice in Baltimore. In 1936, he joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and became the head of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. In this role, he argued and won a series of cases before the Supreme Court that were crucial in ending racial segregation, including Smith v. Allwright, Shelley v. Kraemer, and Sweatt v. Painter.

His most famous case was Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, in which the Supreme Court in 1954 declared that state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students were unconstitutional.

Judicial Career

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Marshall to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him as the United States Solicitor General, making him the first African American to hold the office. As Solicitor General, Marshall won 14 of the 19 cases he argued before the Supreme Court.

In 1967, President Johnson nominated Marshall to the Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Tom C. Clark. The Senate confirmed Marshall by a vote of 69–11. As a Supreme Court Justice, Marshall was known for his strong stance on civil rights and his opposition to the death penalty.

Personal Life

Marshall was married twice. His first wife, Vivian "Buster" Burey, died of cancer in 1955. He later married Cecilia Suyat, with whom he had two sons, Thurgood Jr. and John.

Death and Legacy

Thurgood Marshall died of heart failure on January 24, 1993, in Bethesda, Maryland. He left a lasting legacy as a champion of civil rights and equality. Numerous schools, buildings, and awards have been named in his honor, including the Thurgood Marshall College at the University of California, San Diego and the Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building in Washington, D.C.

Related Pages

• Supreme Court of the United States
• Brown v. Board of Education
• Civil Rights Movement
• Lyndon B. Johnson
• NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund