Politics & Law

Thurgood Marshall

Born July 2, 1908 · Baltimore, Maryland · Joined the Ancestors January 24, 1993

The first African American Supreme Court Justice, Thurgood Marshall dismantled legal segregation case by case, culminating in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision that changed America forever.

Known For

First Black Supreme Court Justice

Landmark Case

Brown v. Board of Education

Served

1967-1991, Supreme Court

Thurgood Marshall was born in Baltimore to a railroad porter father who instilled in him a love of the Constitution. After being denied admission to the University of Maryland Law School because of his race, he graduated first in his class from Howard University School of Law.

As chief counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Marshall argued 32 cases before the Supreme Court and won 29 of them. His greatest victory came in 1954 with Brown v. Board of Education, which declared racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court, making him the first African American to serve. For 24 years, he was a champion of individual rights, equal protection, and justice for the marginalized.