Black History Month

Mr. Civil Rights

Connor Refsland, Staff Writer
April 1, 2023

As the first black Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall took the fight for equality directly to the courtroom, standing against Jim Crow laws, segregation, and the racial prejudice that has haunted this nation since its inception. According to the editors at History.com, “Thurgood Marshall’s steadfast push for equality forever shaped the American justice system.” He was born June 2 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland (History.com). The main reason that Thurgood Marshall even wanted to be a Supreme Court Justice came from his childhood, during which he experienced a tremendous amount of racial discrimination at school. In Baltimore, where he was born and raised, there was a big difference in death rates between African Americans and whites. The death rate of African Americans was right around double the amount (Oyez.com).

Later in his life Marshall was rejected from his dream school because of his race, the University of Maryland Law School. However, after his death the institution named a college after him: the Thurgood Marshall University School of Law, so he ended up going to school at Howard University in Washington DC. He would then go on to graduate first in his class. His main focus was desegregation (History.com). To understand the level of sacrifice it took for Marshall to attend school, consider that his mother actually sold her wedding ring to pay for his college education. He ended up graduating at the top of his class and moving forward to do great things. One of which was helping desegregate a movie theater which he claimed to be the greatest moment in his life (Oyez.com).

Justice Marshall really wanted to make sure that black children were receiving an equal education to that afforded to other American children. He also worked to get rid of Jim Crow laws and the fallacy that “separate but equal” is acceptable treatment for our citizens. After winning the very popular case “Brown vs Board of Education,” he was appointed to the Court of Appeals by President John F. Kennedy. He was later appointed to the Supreme Court by President Lyndon B. Johnson (History.com).

As an attorney Thurgood Marshall won 29 of 32 cases, a ninety percent win rate, which is the highest in history. While on the Supreme Court he had a few main focuses. The first one involved limiting criminal punishment to the extent that he deemed necessary but not harmful. The second focus expanded civil rights, which he is well known for. Marshall’s third area of focus centered on enacting affirmative action through civil laws. He directed his attention on those aspects of the the American experience, because as he stated himself, “Racism separates, but it never liberates. Hatred generates fear, and fear once given a foothold binds, consumes, and imprisons. Nothing is gained from prejudice. No one benefits from racism” (uscourts.gov).

Thurgood Marshall sends an important message to everyone that it is important to stand up for yourself and for others, to make societal changes like he did, fighting against racial discrimination (Oyez.com).

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