Thurgood Marshall 1908–1993
First African American Supreme Court Justice
When Thurgood Marshall was growing up in Maryland, state laws and discrimination limited the civil rights of African Americans. African Americans were segregated, or separated, from white Americans in many ways. Marshall experienced segregation himself. He wanted to attend the University of Maryland Law School but was denied admission because of his race.
Marshall went to Howard University Law School and graduated first in his class. One of his teachers encouraged him to use the legal system to change and improve society. Marshall spent the rest of his career working for equal rights for all Americans. In 1954, he won a Supreme Court case, Brown v. Board of Education, which outlawed segregated schools.
President Lyndon Johnson made Marshall a justice on the Supreme Court in 1967. He became the first African American Supreme Court Justice. On the Supreme Court, Justice Marshall supported freedom of speech and the equality that the Constitution promises to all United States citizens.
Critical Thinking
Why do you think Thurgood Marshall worked for equal rights for all Americans?