Written by Sydney V.
Have you ever thought about how your life would be if you had to go to a specific segregated school, park, restaurant, hotel, bathroom, and more - all just because of your race or nationality? I’m pretty sure you would feel lonely, disrespected, and maybe, even angry.
This was how it used to be for minorities, but because of many civil rights leaders such as Thurgood Marshall, conditions have changed. Thurgood Marshall was an important civil rights leader and the first African-American Supreme Court Justice who dedicated his life to arguing that “separate but equal” definitely wasn’t equal in American schools.
Marshall was born on July 2nd, 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland. His mother taught at a local school, and his father loved watching court cases over at the courthouse. When his father would come home each night, he would chat with Marshall and Marshall’s brother all about what happened at the courthouse. According to the article, “Thurgood Marshall-Civil Rights Leader and Supreme Court Justice” , Marshall noticed he really enjoyed arguing at the dinner table, so Marshall joined the debate team while attending Douglas High School. He did earn average grades, but even so, still graduated high school in 1926. Once he graduated high school, he attended college at Lincoln University and received honors. Finally, he attended Howard University and earned his law degree.
After Marshall completed law school, he began his own law practice for a bit, then started working with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, also known as the NAACP. He won numerous cases for the advancement of the Civil Rights movement, and once, even went against the University of Maryland, a university that didn’t accept him. To make things even better, he victoriously won the case against them!
Another popular case he took on was the Brown vs. Board of Education case. He argued that “separate but equal” wasn’t really equal, and the author of “Thurgood Marshall-Civil Rights Leader and Supreme Court Justice” says the day the verdict was read, people surrounded the courthouse waiting for the decision. The conclusion was that “separate but equal” has no place in education. Finally, he was appointed by President Johnson to serve on the Supreme Court, and he served for 24 years before retiring in 1991. He was the first black Supreme Court Justice in history.
Thurgood Marshall was a very hardworking and impactful civil rights leader known for being a complex speaker. He did many amazing things for the world and is an important part of history that’ll never be forgotten because of his courage, ability to overcome hardships, and the accomplishments in his life.
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