Thurgood Marshall was the first African-American justice to serve the United States Supreme Court. He was a true defender of individual civil rights and had vast knowledge in all legal aspects especially in that of ‘criminal procedure’. He propagated that the Constitution and the Law should zealously stand for the rights of the people irrespective of their color or race.

Fact 1: He was born on July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland to William Marshall, a railway porter and Norma, a teacher. Despite being the grandson of a slave, Thurgood displayed an unlikely admiration for the rule of the law, which he undoubtedly inherited from his father who was an ardent lover of court trials. Marshall’s real name was ‘Thoroughood’ and he took the liberty to shorten it to ‘Thurgood’ to reduce the difficulty of spelling it while being a second grader.

Fact 2: Marshall joined the Frederick Douglass High School and after successful graduation, went to the Lincoln University. In the beginning he did not have a serious attitude towards his studies and was punished more than once for troubling his batch mates. But he excelled in debates and became an active member of the first black fraternity named the Alpha Phi Alpha. Consequently, he took part in all the movements and protests against the segregation of blacks.

Fact 3: After his graduation from the Lincoln University, Marshall wanted to join the Maryland University for higher studies. But the uncanny segregation policies of the University left him hopeless and thus he joined the Howard University for further studies of law. After passing the exams in flying colors, he began private practicing. It was then he came to know about another student named Donald Murray who was denied admission to the Maryland University as he was an African. He sued the University for its erroneous attitude and came out victorious.

Fact 4: The Maryland University case gained him great approbation and he began to be noted for his professional excellence. His zeal and dedication made him the Chief Counsel of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and was often referred to as ‘Mr. Civil Rights’ for his endeavors to uplift the African- Americans from their predicament.

Fact 5: Marshall had not known much of a failure in his professional life. Of the thirty two cases in the Supreme Court for which he appeared, twenty nine were won. Yet he is typically famous for his success in the Brown v. Board of Education case where he placed his uncompromising arguments against the segregation in schools towards black children. Until then, black children were not permitted to attend the schools that were exclusively for white children and they went to separate schools. Marshall succeeded in flawlessly proving the point that ‘separate schools for the blacks and the whites’ was against the constitution of the country.

Fact 6: It was President John F. Kennedy who appointed him as a judge to the Court of Appeals in 1961, giving due consideration to his skill, talent and success as a lawyer. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson made him the Solicitor General, and within two years in 1967, he found his way to the United States Supreme Court, the highest establishment of law in the country, after being nominated by President Lyndon Johnson. He served the Supreme Court as an Associate Justice for 24 years until his retirement in 1991.

Fact 7: Two years after his remarkable career, in 1993 Marshall died of a heart failure at the age of 84 and is now rightfully remembered for his zero tolerance to injustice and inequality and significant contribution to the field of law.