Why is Thurgood Marshall important?

Thurgood Marshall was a civil rights lawyer who used the courts to fight Jim Crow and dismantle segregation in the U.S. Marshall was a towering figure who became the nation's first Black United States Supreme Court Justice.

How did Thurgood Marshall impact the world?

He also won the landmark Brown v. the Board of Education in 1954, which outlawed segregated schools and paved the way for the integration of all public facilities and businesses. His victories ultimately created legal protections for women, children, prisoners, and the homeless.

Why is Thurgood Marshall important for kids?

After graduating from law school, Marshall started working on civil rights cases to fight for equality for African Americans. But probably his best known case was Brown vs. Board of Education, which challenged school segregation, when white and Black students are forced to go to separate schools.

Why was Thurgood Marshall a good leader?

Thurgood Marshall was the leading architect of the strategy that ended state-sponsored segregation. Thurgood Marshall's visionary legal work at the Legal Defense Fund was an unrivaled contribution to the Civil Rights Movement and helped change the arc of American history forever.

Was Thurgood Marshall a good justice?

Supreme Court of the United States. Thurgood Marshall had a fresh, passionate voice and became a champion of civil rights, both on the bench and through almost 30 Supreme Court victories before his appointment, during times of severe racial strains.

Facts about Thurgood Marshall

What cases did Thurgood Marshall lose?

He may have been a fantastic lawyer and one of the best records arguing before the Supreme Court, but he still had some notable losses including Lyons v. Oklahoma, Taylor v. Alabama and in a particularly pointed way the Groveland Four trials.

What is a quote from Thurgood Marshall?

"A man can make what he wants of himself if he truly believes that he must be ready for hard work and many heartbreaks." "In recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute."

What are 3 interesting facts about Thurgood Marshall?

Thurgood Marshall was the first African American to serve as a justice (judge) on the U.S. Supreme Court. Marshall strongly supported equal rights for African Americans. Marshall was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on July 2, 1908. In 1933 he graduated from Howard University Law School in Washington, D.C.

What change did Thurgood Marshall make?

Oklahoma Board of Regents of Higher Education (1950). Having won these cases, and thus, establishing precedents for chipping away Jim Crow laws in higher education, Marshall succeeded in having the Supreme Court declare segregated public schools unconstitutional in Brown v. Board of Education (1954).

What are 10 facts about Thurgood Marshall?

What did we learn from Thurgood Marshall?

Thurgood Marshall was an African American man, and he knew that no one should be treated differently because of their skin color. Marshall changed the world by fighting for equal rights for people that weren't being treated fairly.

What was the life lesson of Thurgood Marshall?

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The honorable Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall once said "A person can make what they want of themselves if they truly believe that they must be ready for hard work and many heartbreaks." So many believe that there is no price to pay for success.

What challenges did Thurgood Marshall face?

The primary obstacle that Thurgood Marshall faced during his lifetime was racial prejudice and segregation. Before the 1960s, it was illegal for African Americans in the South to use the same public and private institutions and facilities as whites. They were also not allowed to vote.

What awards did Thurgood Marshall win?

He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1993 by President Bill Clinton. In 1946, Marshall was also honored with the Spingarn Medal awarded by the National Association of Colored People (NAACP). In 1992, Marshall was honored with the Thurgood Marshall Award given by the American Bar...

Who was the first woman on the Supreme Court?

Sandra Day O'Connor: First Woman on the Supreme Court - Introduction.

Who was the first black female Supreme Court justice?

Senate Confirms Ketanji Brown Jackson as First Black Woman to Serve on U.S. Supreme Court. Ketanji Brown Jackson has been confirmed as the first African-American woman to serve as a justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Was Thurgood Marshall ever threatened?

He was the target of numerous death threats. On at least two occasions, he was threatened by lynch mobs. Thurgood Marshall was born in Baltimore, Md.

Was Thurgood Marshall black or white?

Johnson nominated distinguished civil rights lawyer Thurgood Marshall to be the first African American justice to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Marshall had already made his mark in American law, having won 29 of the 32 cases he argued before the Supreme Court, most notably the landmark case Brown v.

What did Thurgood Marshall do before he was famous?

Prior to his judicial service, he was an attorney who fought for civil rights, leading the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund. Marshall was a prominent figure in the movement to end racial segregation in American public schools.

What is Thurgood Marshall facts for kids?

Thurgood Marshall was a lawyer and the first African-American Supreme Court Justice, who used his law skills to fight Jim Crow laws and segregation. He experienced segregation himself when he was denied access to the University of Maryland because he was black.

What is an interesting fact about Thurgood Marshall as a child?

His father, William, worked as a steward at an all-white country club. His mother, Norma, was a kindergarten teacher. His grandfather was an enslaved person who gained his freedom by escaping from the South during the Civil War. Marshall was a good student in school, but often got into trouble for misbehaving.

Did Thurgood Marshall have a brother?

After completing high school in 1925, Thurgood followed his brother, William Aubrey Marshall, at the historically black Lincoln University in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Who chose Thurgood Marshall?

President Johnson nominated Marshall in June 1967 to replace the retiring Justice Tom Clark, who left the Court after his son, Ramsey Clark, became Attorney General. Johnson said Marshall was “best qualified by training and by very valuable service to the country. …

How was Thurgood Marshall childhood?

Thurgood Marshall, the nation's first African American U.S. Supreme Court Justice, was born in 1908 and grew up in Old West Baltimore, attended segregated public schools, and during his teenage years worked in a Pennsylvania Avenue hat shop.

Was Thurgood Marshall against the death penalty?

Thurgood Marshall opposed the death penalty. As the only Supreme Court justice to have litigated a death-penalty case, Marshall knew firsthand the “extraordinary unfairness that ... surrounds the administration of the death penalty.” This knowledge made Marshall a dedicated foe of capital punishment.