Thurgood Marshall

civil rights · justice · lawyer · history

Fought segregation in schools. Marshall worked as a lawyer to challenge laws that forced Black and white children to attend separate schools. In 1954, he won the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, which made school segregation illegal across the entire United States.

Won most of his cases. Marshall was an incredibly skilled lawyer who won 29 out of 32 civil rights cases he argued before the Supreme Court. This amazing record shows how prepared and persuasive he was.

First Black Supreme Court justice. In 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court, making him the very first African-American justice in the Court's history. He served on the Court for 24 years.

Defended civil rights. Before joining the Supreme Court, Marshall led the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, an organization dedicated to fighting for equal rights and justice for Black Americans. He was a key leader in the civil rights movement.