Thurgood Marshall, lawyer and civil rights activist who was the first African American member of the U.S. Supreme Court, serving as an associate justice from 1967 to 1991. As an attorney, he successfully argued before the Supreme Court the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954).
Celebrating the 70th anniversary of Brown vs. Board of Education, a panel discussion honors Justice Thurgood Marshall's legacy in desegregating schools.
Thurgood Marshall, originally Thoroughgood Marshall, (born July 2, 1908, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. died January 24, 1993, Bethesda), lawyer, civil rights activist, and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (1967–91), the Court’s first African American member. As an attorney, he successfully argued before the Court the case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954), which declared unconstitutional racial segregation in American public schools. Marshall was the son of William Canfield Marshall, a railroad porter and a steward at an all-white country club, and Norma Williams Marshall, an elementary school teacher. He graduated with honours from Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) in
He was born Thoroughgood Marshall on June 2, 1908 in Baltimore, MD.
He was named after a paternal grandfather who chose the name “Thorough Good” for himself when he enlisted in the Union army during the U.S. Civil War.
At the age of six, Marshall legally changed his name to Thurgood to escape the constant teasing.
Marshall’s mother and father were the descendants of enslaved people.
His father, William Canfield Marshall, worked as a railroad porter and later as the staff of a whites-only country club. His mother, Norma Arica Williams, was a teacher.
Marshall’s father would take him and his brother to the courthouse to watch court cases. They would debate the case and discuss current events at the dinner table.