From Jessica McElrath,
Your Guide to African-American History.
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Dates: July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993

Occupation: U.S. Supreme Court Justice, attorney

Thurgood Marshall is most known for serving as the first black United States Supreme Court Justice, but prior to his career on the bench he successfully argued civil rights cases on behalf of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Thurgood Marshall’s Educational Background

Marshall was born on July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland. Marshall graduated cum laude in 1930 from Lincoln University. He then went on to attend law school at Howard University. In 1933, he graduated magna cum laude.

Marshall’s Career as an Attorney

In 1936 Marshall began working for the NAACP, and later became the director of NAACP’s Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Marshall argued 32 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and won 29 of them. These cases included Smith v. Allwright (1944), Morgan v. Virginia (1946), Shelley v. Kramer (1948), and Sweatt v. Painter (1950). Marshall also argued and won the landmark case Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which made segregation in public schools unconstitutional.

Marshall’s Career as a Judge

In 1961, Marshall’s success as an attorney was duly noted when President John F. Kennedy nominated him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Marshall’s nomination was met with opposition, but months later he was finally confirmed by the Senate. In July 1965, President Lyndon Johnson appointed Marshall as the U.S. Solicitor General. Shortly thereafter, in 1967, President Johnson nominated him to the U.S. Supreme Court.

As a Supreme Court Justice, Marshall was a strong advocate for civil rights and was steadfast in his goal to end discrimination.

Marshall retired from the court in 1991. He died on Janurary 24, 1993.