Who Is Thurgood Marshall?
Thurgood Marshall's death in 1993 prompted an editorial that read, "We make movies about Malcolm X, we take a holiday to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, but everyday we live the legacy of Justice Thurgood Marshall." Marshall, who marched alongside King and Malcolm X, believed changing the laws in America was the way to gain equality for blacks. He is best known for being the first African-American justice on the Supreme Court, where he worked to secure equal rights for not only blacks, but those less likely to be heard--women, children, the homeless and prisoners.
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Early Years
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Thoroughgood Marshall, born July 2, 1908, in Baltimore, Maryland, was the great-grandson of a slave. He changed his name to Thurgood in grade school because it was easier to write, and he learned the constitution because he had to write it as punishment for bad behavior in school. His parents, Norma, an educator, and William Marshall, a Pullman-car waiter, encouraged their children to become educated as the means to a better life.
Marshall attended Lincoln University, where he rubbed elbows with such classmates as Langston Hughes, Cab Calloway and Kwame Nkrumah, who would become the president of Ghana.
NAACP Counsel
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A 1933 graduate of Howard Law School, Marshall went to work for the NAACP. In 1936, he became assistant special counsel for the NAACP in New York, where he argued and won 29 Supreme Court cases focused on issues involving racism. Here are the most notable.
-- Brown v. Board of Education made segregation in public schools illegal. Won in 1951, this is Marshall's most famous case as it laid the groundwork for fighting segregation in schools across America.
--Murray v. Pearson overturned the University of Maryland decision to stop an African-American student from attending their law school.
--Smith v. Allwright made denying blacks the right to vote in primaries unconstitutional. It is noted that Marshall hailed this victory as the greatest in his career.
--Shelley v. Kraemer made racially restrictive covenants in housing contracts unconstitutional.
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Solicitor General
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In 1965, Marshall was appointed U.S. solicitor general by then-President Lyndon B. Johnson. Representing the United States, Marshall argued 19 cases in front of the Supreme Court. He won 14. Some notable cases:
--Evans v. Newton made operating private establishments within public buildings a public activity that must adhere to constitutional requirements, another push against racially motivated behavior.
--Harper v. Virginia Board of Education made poll taxes unconstitutional under the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment making voting more accessible to all.
Supreme Court
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In 1967, Johnson appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court, where he continued to fight for Americans without a voice. He served from 1967 to 1991, when he stepped down because of failing health. He died in 1993 from heart failure.
Family
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Marshall married Vivian "Buster" Burey in 1929. After Burey died in 1955, Marshall married Cecilia Suyat, with whom he had two children, Thurgood Marshall Jr. and John W. Marshall. Thurgood Marshall Jr. is an attorney in Washingon D.C. and is on the board of governors of the U.S. Postal Service, appointed by President George W. Bush. John W. Marshall is the Secretary of Public Safety in Virginia.
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