August 30, 1967
- Aug 30, 2023
- 2 min read
On this day in history in 1967 Thurgood Marshall was confirmed as the first African American Supreme Court justice.
Destined for History
From an early age Thurgood Marshall grew up with an appreciation for the Constitution, which was instilled in him by both his parents and teachers. He graduated from Lincoln University in 1930 and wanted to attend the University of Maryland School of Law but was unable to because it was a segregated school. Instead he went to Howard University Law School where he graduated magna cum laude.
He set up a private practice in Maryland, his home state, and became a lawyer for the "little man." He also started working for the Baltimore National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and became its chief counsel at only 32 years old. In the next twenty years he became a leading advocate for individual rights. He won 29 of the 32 cases he took in front of the Supreme Court that challenged "separate but equal." One of the high-points of his career was in 1954 when he won a landmark victory in Brown V. Board of Education that determined "separate but equal" was unconstitutional.
The Supreme Court
In 1961 President John F. Kennedy appointed Marshall to the U.S. court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He was then named solicitor general by Johnson. It was also President Johnson who appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court, which was confirmed by the senate with a 69-11 vote.
Marshall served on the Supreme Court for 24 years. He was in favor of abortion rights, against the death penalty, and continued to work for the equitable treatment of individuals. He died in January 1993.
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