Thurgood Marshall Biography

 

Justice Thurgood Marshall. United States, 1976.

Official portraits of theU.S. Supreme Court: Justice Thurgood Marshall. United States, 1976. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2002721282/.

Thurgood Marshall: Advocate for Equality and Justice

Thurgood Marshall was a pioneering American civil rights lawyer and the first African American Supreme Court Justice. His career was marked by significant contributions to the fight for racial equality and justice in the United States.

Formative Years and Education

Born on July 2, 1908, in Baltimore, Maryland, Marshall was inspired by his father to pursue a career in law. He attended Frederick Douglass High School in Baltimore and then Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, graduating with honors in 1930. At Lincoln, he was classmates with future civil rights leaders such as Langston Hughes and Kwame Nkrumah.

Marshall continued his education at Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C., where he graduated first in his class in 1933. At Howard, he was heavily influenced by Charles Hamilton Houston, a prominent civil rights lawyer and Dean of the law school, who instilled in him the importance of using the law as a tool for social change.

Career with the NAACP

Marshall began his legal career with the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) in 1936 and quickly rose to the position of chief counsel. In this role, he was instrumental in developing and executing the legal strategy to dismantle institutionalized segregation in the United States. His tenure at the NAACP was marked by a series of landmark victories before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Landmark Supreme Court Cases

Marshall's most renowned case was Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), where he argued that segregation in public schools violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. The Supreme Court's unanimous decision overturned the "separate but equal" doctrine established by Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896, declaring that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." This landmark decision was a monumental victory for the civil rights movement, paving the way for the desegregation of public schools across the United States.

Other notable cases Marshall argued include:

• Smith v. Allwright (1944): Overturned the Texas state law that authorized white primaries, effectively disenfranchising African American voters.
• Shelley v. Kraemer (1948): Ruled that courts could not enforce racial covenants on real estate.
• Sweatt v. Painter (1950): Challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine in higher education, leading to the integration of the University of Texas Law School.

Judicial and Supreme Court Career

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Marshall to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Despite opposition from Southern senators, he was confirmed and served on the court until 1965. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him as Solicitor General of the United States, where he won 14 of the 19 cases he argued before the Supreme Court.

In 1967, President Johnson nominated Marshall to the Supreme Court, and he was confirmed by the Senate, making him the first African American Supreme Court Justice. During his 24-year tenure on the Court, Marshall was a steadfast advocate for individual rights and equality. He consistently supported decisions that expanded civil rights, opposed the death penalty, and defended the rights of criminal defendants.

Thurgood Marshall retired from the Supreme Court in 1991 and passed away on January 24, 1993. His legacy is profound, as he played a crucial role in the civil rights movement and the fight against racial injustice. His work laid the foundation for significant legal and social changes in the United States, and he remains an enduring symbol of the quest for equality and justice.

Champion of Civil Rights

Thurgood Marshall's life and career were marked by significant achievements and substantial contributions to the battle against racial injustice and inequality. His relentless efforts in advancing civil rights and his pioneering role as the first African American Supreme Court Justice have left an indelible mark on American legal history.