Thurgood Marshall

Early Life

• Born on July 2, 1908
• Had family debates almost every night
• Attended Samuel Coleridge Taylor Elementary
• Attended Booker T. Washington Junior High

schools

• Graduated from Baltimore's Colored High School
• Graduated from Lincoln University
• Applied to the University of Maryland
• Attended Howard University Law School

home life

• Married Vivian Burey in 1929
• Married Cecilia A. Suyat in 1955
• Two sons named Thurgood Jr. & John William

naacp

• Began working for NAACP in 1934
• Mentor was Charles Hamilton Houston
• Chief of NAACP Legal Defense Fund in 1940
• Won 29 out of 32 cases

murray v. pearson

• One of his first cases in 1935
• Worked with Charles Houston
• Defended Donald Murray
• Won the case in January 1936

Smith v. allwright

• Crucial Supreme Court victory
• The use of whites-only primary elections

Brown v. board of education

• 5 separate cases
• "Separate but equal"
• Won the case on May 17, 1954
• One of the most successful lawyers

LITTLE ROCK NINE

• Thurgood flew to Little Rock
• Asked Supreme Court for a special session

circuit court judge & solicitor general

• Appointed Circuit Court Judge in 1961
• First black Solicitor General in 1965

supreme court justice

• Sworn in on October 2, 1967
• Joined a liberal Supreme Court
• Served for 24 years

retirement

• Retired in 1991
• Awarded the Liberty Medal in 1992
• Died on January 24, 1993

legacy

• Important figure of the Civil Rights Movement
• Third way of pursuing racial equality
• Stands alongside MLK Jr. & Malcolm X