The Contributions of Thurgood Marshall to Civil Rights Overview African-Americans have significantly contributed to the criminal justice field in the United States through presenting law cases in the Supreme Court and championing for civil rights. One of the African-American names mentioned among those that have had a significant contribution to this field is Thurgood “Thoroughgood” Marshall, who became the first African-American justice to be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court, and the pioneer of civil rights. With regard to Thurgood Marshall, the purpose of this paper is to explore his contributions to civil rights in the field of criminal justice. To do so, this paper will examine Marshall’s childhood and family background, education, his …show more content…
He had to change the university to enroll in a law school to be able to achieve his dream of becoming an attorney. He wanted to study law at the University of Maryland Law School, but this college did not admit blacks. For this reason, Thurgood had to undertake his legal studies at Howard Law School, which admitted black students being historically a black college. He would later graduate first in his law school class. Most importantly, Thurgood had spent two years out of law school, where he filed a petition against the University of Maryland Law School for refusing to accept blacks. He made a compelling case by persuading a judge to take a legal action against this university (Mintz & McNeil, 2016). This petition kick-started his law practice and gave him a platform to contribute to civil rights thus leaving an indelible mark in the field of criminal …show more content…
Based on the pronouncements of the court on May 17, 1954, everyone in the courtroom was shocked after it became clear that Marshall was right in his claim about the unconstitutionality of legal segregation in American public schools. Essentially, this court’s decision became a most important turning point in U.S. history because the desegregation case had been won by an African American attorney. Additionally, this became a landmark decision in the sense that it played a big role in the crumbling of the discriminatory laws against African Americans and people of color in major socioeconomic areas, such as employment, education, and housing (Stinson, 2008). Ultimately, Marshall’s legal achievements contributed significantly to the criminal justice field. Conclusion Many African Americans have contributed to the development of criminal justice field by their legal endeavors. One of these individuals is Thurgood Marshall, who played a role in desegregation in American public schools and became the first African American attorney to win a Supreme Court case. His major contributions in this field were mainly through his civil right activism while at NAACP. In particular, Marshall’s successful intervention in defending the three men involved in the Brown Supreme Court decision made him one of the greatest African American
Homer Plessy vs. the Honorable John H. Ferguson ignited the spark in our nation that ultimately led to the desegregation of our schools, which is shown in the equality of education that is given to all races across the country today. “The Plessy decision set the precedent that ‘separate’ facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional as long as they were ‘equal’” (“The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow”). The case of Plessy vs. Ferguson not only illuminated the racial inequality within our education system, but also brought to light how the standard of ‘separate but equal’ affected every aspect of African American lives.
Thurgood Marshall attended Frederick Douglass High School and graduated with an above average in 1926. Three years later he got married to his first wife Vivian Burey in September 4, 1929 at the age of 21. He attended Lincoln University College in 1930. He graduated in 1933 with honors. After college he applied to university of Maryland law school, Even though he was over qualified academically he was still denied because of his race. He then applied to Howard Law School it’s a Historically Black school.
Thurgood Marshall was one of the famous Supreme Court judges who had a huge impact on the justice department regarding the civil rights and the society in general. One of the notable quotes by Justice Marshall was that "power, not reason is the currency of this court decision making." This quote has a lot of implication regarding the civil rights, during the time Marshall had observed a change in the judicial system regarding composition to the judges (Vile, and Joseph 14). There was a transformation in the courts where senior judges had retired paving a way for younger justices. These changes also affected the perception and views of the justice, regarding civil rights. The shift from analysis
Thurgood Marshall overcame discrimination by his dreams of going into the law field despite the racism surrounding him at that time. “Thurgood Marshall, the great-grandson of a slave, grew up in the South and experienced racism and discrimination firsthand” (Hitzeroth and Leon 9). Since he was raised in the South, a more racist part of the country, he was already experiencing racism at a young age. He could not shop in the same store, sit in the same section of the bus, or attend the same schools as white children and white people in general (Hitzeroth and Leon 9-10). Also, he was a cum laude honors student, but he was denied admission to the University Of Maryland Law School because of the color of his skin (Hitzeroth and Leon 10). Despite all of these events, he still chose to pursue a career in law. Part of this could be because his father taught him to respect the U.S. Constitution and the authority of law (Thurgood Marshall Biography). Also, “author John Egerton wrote in his book Speak Now Against the Day, ‘In courtrooms, black lawyers were exceedingly...
Thurgood Marshall was known in the NAACP’s Legal Defense as “Mr. Civil Rights,” because he fought many battles over segregation in the courts. Thurgood Marshall was surrounded by a team of brilliant lawyers, one in particular, Oliver Hill, from Virginia. Mr. Hill won many civil rights suits dealing with discrimination in education and wages. The civil rights movement included different groups with many priorities, all working toward the larger goal of social equality. The most highly educational law suit is Brown v. Board of Education. Oliver Brown sued the Topeka, Kansas, Board of Education to simply allow his own 8 year old daughter Linda attend a nearby school for whites only. Imagine every day walking by a school that have your grade level, riding a bus for miles to attend a school where only students of color must attend. On May 17, 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, and this is when the Supreme Court issued its historic ruling. It was Thurgood Marshall that spoke to reporters in New York City in 1955, after the Supreme Court ordered the desegregation of public schools. Marshall later became the first African American Supreme Court
The request for an injunction pushed the court to make a difficult decision. On one hand, the judges agreed with the Browns; saying that: “Segregation of white and colored children in public schools has a detrimental effect upon the colored children...A sense of inferiority affects the motivation of a child to learn” (The National Center For Public Research). On the other hand, the precedent of Plessy v. Ferguson allowed separate but equal school systems for blacks and whites, and no Supreme Court ruling had overturned Plessy yet. Be...
During the years the Supreme Court has gone through some changes of its’ own. While Chief Justice Earl Warren was there the first African-American Justice was named to the court: Thurgood Marshall. Chief Justice Warren’s leadership marked a force in social issues. Along the lines of desegregation, election reform and the rights of defendants.
Thurgood Marshall utilized the judiciary system to advocate equality for African Americans during the Civil Right movement. He fought fearlessly to extend equality to the most disadvantaged citizen. Also, Thurgood was invited to visit Kenya and England to help draft a constitution for the soon to be republic of Kenya which included safety measures for the rights of the white minority. Furthermore, when Marshall was appointed as the 96th judge of the Supreme Court, he became the first African-American appointed to the Supreme Court. While it is true that Justice Marshall was a Civil Right advocate, he did supported the Vietnam War. On August 4, 1973, the case Schlesinger v. Holtzman, Justice Marshall declined to order the military to stop bombing
As he would travel for his work he had to be protected because many people did not like him at the time. Marshall would face slurs and death threats. Why are people being so mean, you may ask, Thurgood Marshall worked for desegregation in all schools. Marshall was gaining his and others’ equality through the law. He took this work very seriously but he still had his time for his fun with his friends at work. He gave credit for those who did work and deserved the credit. He had faith that the Constitution would help bring down segregation. With the 14th amendment, he helped bring down segregation in schools and he won the case of “ Brown vs. Board of Education”. At this time, his wife Buster was diagnosed with cancer and later on February 11, 1955 she passed
He then tried to go to the University of Maryland Law School, but he was rejected on the basis of race (“Thurgood Marshall”). Instead, he went to Howard University Law School. There he received his degree in 1933 and he ranked first in his class (“Thurgood Marshall”). After college Thurgood Marshall became a staff lawyer under Charles Houston in 1936 when he join the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) (“Thurgood Marshall”). Within two years, he became the lead chair in the legal office of the NAACP (“Thurgood Marshall”). Then in 1940 he became the chief of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (“Thurgood Marshall”). “In the 1940s and 1950s he distinguished himself as one of the country’s top lawyers” (“Thurgood Marshall”). In 1961 John F. Kennedy nominated Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit(“Thurgood Marshall”). But, he wasn’t added to the court until several months later thanks to southern senators. Then in July 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson name Thurgood Marshall U.S. solicitor general (“Thurgood Marshall”). Then years later, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him to the Supreme Court, and he was added on August 30, 1967, making him the first African American on the Supreme Court (“Marshall Becomes First Black Supreme Court
Thurgood Marshall was born on July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland. His mother was a teacher, and his father was a steward. His father was the origination of Marshall’s later life in law. Every day after work, his father would listen to the cases at the local courthouse. He would bring home all the details and discuss it with the children. It was this discussion (arguments if one would ask Thurgood) that stemmed his attention to the law. Growing
Marshall was not taking his studies serious and got suspended twice for hazing and pranks against fellow classmates. In his freshman year he opposed the integration of African-American professors at the university. Hughes later described Marshall as “ Rough and ready, loud and wrong”. In his second year Marshall participated in a sit-in protest against segregation at a local movie theater. In that year, he was initiated as a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, the first fraternity founded by and for blacks. His marriage to Vivien Burey in September 1929 encouraged him to take his studies seriously, and he graduated from Lincoln with honors (cum laude) Bachelor of Arts in Humanities, with a major in American literature and philosophy. Thurgood’s law life was just as good as his early life. After graduating from law school, Marshall started a private law practice in Baltimore. Marshall began his 25-year affiliation with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1934 by representing the organization in the law school discrimination suit Murray v. Pearson. In 1936, Marshall became part of the national
Thurgood Marshall was born July 2, 1908, Baltimore, MD.Thurgood Marshall was a African American hero what he did for colored people was amazing he fought to he couldn't no more. He was the first African American to have a case in a Supreme Court.
Thurgood Marshall was born on July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland, and studied law at
From the mid 1800’s to the mid 1900’s African Americans endured relentlessness racism. White supremacists dehumanized African Americans in almost all aspects of their life. The hate sparked intelligent leaders to stand against the south and resist the racism. Of these important Civil Rights figures, Charles Hamilton Houston (1895-1950), an attorney and law professor at Howard University instructed a generation of black lawyer activists to defend equal rights for all. Houston wrote, “Need for Negro Lawyers,” and “Negro Separate Schools,” to explain his views and goals in regards to Civil Rights activism. He elucidated blacks capabilities and fought oppression through education.