Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall: A Life of Courage and Conviction
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Thurgood Marshall was born on July 2, 1908, in Baltimore, Maryland. His full name is Thoroughgood Marshall, but he was commonly known as "Theo" to his friends and family.
Birth and Death Dates
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Born: July 2, 1908
Died: January 24, 1993
Nationality and Profession(s)
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Marshall was an American lawyer, jurist, and civil rights activist. He served as a Supreme Court Justice from 1967 to 1991.
Early Life and Background
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Thurgood Marshall grew up in a middle-class family in Baltimore's segregated community. His parents, William and Norma Marshall, instilled in him the importance of education and social justice. Marshall attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, where he studied American history and sociology. He later transferred to Howard University School of Law, where he earned his law degree.
During his time at Howard, Marshall was exposed to the struggles faced by African Americans during the Great Depression and the rise of Jim Crow laws. These experiences sparked a passion for civil rights within him. Marshall began working with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) while still in law school. He argued his first case before the Supreme Court in 1937, setting the stage for his illustrious career as a lawyer and advocate.
Major Accomplishments
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Marshall's achievements are too numerous to count, but some notable highlights include:
Arguing Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which led to the desegregation of public schools in the United States.
Working with the NAACP on cases like Sweatt v. Painter (1950) and McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents (1950).
Serving as a Solicitor General from 1965 to 1967, where he argued several landmark civil rights cases before the Supreme Court.
Being nominated by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1967 and confirmed by the Senate to become the first African American Justice on the Supreme Court.
Notable Works or Actions
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Some of Marshall's most notable works include:
The Civil Rights Act of 1955: Marshall played a crucial role in drafting this legislation, which expanded voting rights for African Americans.
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964: Marshall argued before the Supreme Court that Title VII prohibited employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Impact and Legacy
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Thurgood Marshall's impact on American society cannot be overstated. He used his position as a lawyer and judge to champion civil rights and challenge racial segregation. His work continues to inspire new generations of lawyers, activists, and policymakers working towards social justice. As the first African American Justice on the Supreme Court, Marshall paved the way for future generations of minority judges.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Marshall's quotes are often cited because they speak directly to the heart of civil rights issues:
> "You don't have to be a lawyer to say that what we're doing is right."
>
> — Thurgood Marshall
Marshall's life and work remind us that social justice requires courage, conviction, and a commitment to equality.
Quotes by Thurgood Marshall
I never worked hard until I got to the Howard Law School and met Charlie Houston... I saw this man's dedication, his vision, his willingness to sacrifice, and I told myself, 'You either shape up or ship out.' When you are being challenged by a great human being, you know that you can't ship out.
We could get more action in the South because the Negroes had a feeling that they were being oppressed. But you take New York, for example: they'd give Negroes little five-cent jobs here and there - and they thought they had something. And the same in Chicago and any of the metropolitan areas.
It was taken for granted that we had to make something of ourselves. Not much was said about it; it was just in the atmosphere of the home.
It is important that the strongest pressures against the continuation of segregation, North or South, be continually and constantly manifested. Probably, as much as anything else, this is the key in the elimination of discrimination in the United States.
'Black' is an adjective, in my book, and the way I use it, sometimes I'll say 'black people.' But if I'm talking about a person, I'm going to say 'a Negro,' because I was taught to say that, and I don't see any reason to change it. I don't think that gives pride or anything else. I don't think you get pride by calling yourself this or that.
My father had a flat rule. He believed that every man's house was his castle. He had a flat rule: no man could come in his house without his permission.
When you hear a lot of stories about Africa, and you get to a place like Kenya and other countries like that, where they think the same way we do, I was happy to find that the Schedule of Rights that I drew for the Kenyan Government was working very well.
As soon as I reach any town, I talk to the shoe-shine boys or the barbers or the people in the restaurants, because it's Mr. Joe Doakes who is very close to reality.
Deciding not to decide is, of course, among the most important things done by the Supreme Court. It takes a lot of doing, but it can be done.
We deal here with the right of all of our children, whatever their race, to an equal start in life and to an equal opportunity to reach their full potential as citizens. Those children who have been denied that right in the past deserve better than to see fences thrown up to deny them that right in the future.