Thurgood Marshall
Thoroughgood Marshall
American
The Great Dissenter
Thurgood Marshall, who became the first African-American Supreme Court Justice (1967-1991), knocked down legal segregation in America as a civil rights attorney. As Chief Counsel of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense and Education Fund (1940-1961), Marshall successfully argued Smith v Allwright, which ended the white primary in southern states in 1944. 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. President John Kennedy appointed Marshall to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1961-1965). In 1965 President Lyndon B Johnson appointed Marshall the first African American Solicitor General of the United States (1965-1967). Two years later, President Johnson nominated Marshall to the Supreme Court. He was confirmed in spite of protest from southern US senators. In the conservative era of the 1970s and 1980s, Marshall became known as the great dissenter for his vigorous opposition to majority Supreme Court decisions he believed violated human and civil rights. - NPS
| Notable Position | Organization | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Co |