There is a man everyone, black, white or indifferent should know in American History. He is one of those behind the scenes characters who made major changes. Showing that indeed, one man can make a difference...
Ladies and Gents:
Thurgood Marshall:
An interesting man to say the least. He
graduated from Lincoln University in 1930 and applied to University of Maryland
Law School but was turned down because of his race. He then attended Howard
University Law School, though his mother had to pawn her wedding and engagement
rings to pay the tuition. He graduated first in his class in 1933, just as
America was feeling the full impact of the Great Depression. Most will remember
him only for being the first Black Supreme Court Justice of the United States.
He was nominated by LBJ following the retirement of Justice Tom C. Clark,
saying that this was "the right
thing to do, the right time to do it, the right man and the right place." He
was confirmed as an Associate Justice by a Senate vote of 69–11 on August 30,
1967. Doris Kerns Goodwin said then that a lot of Black babies being born would
have the name Thurgood. Well, in my generation, 2 of the popular T.V. shows of
the day have had lead characters named Thurgood. “The PJ’s” done in the late
1990’s by Eddie Murphy and was a Claymation show based on several families and
friends who all lived in the “PJ’s” together, or The Projects. Another is the
cartoon on now, called “Cleveland”. Beyond those minor societal facts, he did
many things that had nothing to do with Television. He was the attorney who
fought Brown v. Board of education in
1954 and won at the Supreme Court level by calling into question the legality
of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 and the
ideals of Separate but equal being even Constitutionally correct. He is, by
some, almost credited with singlehandedly doing away with segregation by way of
the law. He actually fought 32 cases total in front of the Supreme Court in his
career, and won 29 of them. He believed work within the system to change it was
best, and summarily dismissed Malcom X’s calls for violent upheaval. He
believed Affirmative Action should be the only step taken to make things equal
in light of past problems, and dismissed those who called for reparations and
separation.
http://www.thurgoodmarshall.com/home.htm
- His historical site.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/robes_marshall.html
- PBS write up about him and his accomplishments.
An interesting man to say the least. He graduated from Lincoln University in 1930 and applied to University of Maryland Law School but was turned down because of his race. He then attended Howard University Law School, though his mother had to pawn her wedding and engagement rings to pay the tuition. He graduated first in his class in 1933, just as America was feeling the full impact of the Great Depression. Most will remember him only for being the first Black Supreme Court Justice of the United States. He was nominated by LBJ following the retirement of Justice Tom C. Clark, saying that this was "the right thing to do, the right time to do it, the right man and the right place." He was confirmed as an Associate Justice by a Senate vote of 69–11 on August 30, 1967. Doris Kerns Goodwin said then that a lot of Black babies being born would have the name Thurgood. Well, in my generation, 2 of the popular T.V. shows of the day have had lead characters named Thurgood. “The PJ’s” done in the late 1990’s by Eddie Murphy and was a Claymation show based on several families and friends who all lived in the “PJ’s” together, or The Projects. Another is the cartoon on now, called “Cleveland”. Beyond those minor societal facts, he did many things that had nothing to do with Television. He was the attorney who fought Brown v. Board of education in 1954 and won at the Supreme Court level by calling into question the legality of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 and the ideals of Separate but equal being even Constitutionally correct. He is, by some, almost credited with singlehandedly doing away with segregation by way of the law. He actually fought 32 cases total in front of the Supreme Court in his career, and won 29 of them. He believed work within the system to change it was best, and summarily dismissed Malcom X’s calls for violent upheaval. He believed Affirmative Action should be the only step taken to make things equal in light of past problems, and dismissed those who called for reparations and separation.
http://www.thurgoodmarshall.com/home.htm
- His historical site.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/robes_marshall.html
- PBS write up about him and his accomplishments.
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