Thurgood Marshall: A Major Influence on Law and Equality
“In one section, at least of our common country, a government of the people, by the people, and for the people means a government by the mob” (Hitzeroth and Leon 13). This is an excerpt from a newspaper article written by reporter Ida B. Wells-Barnett, who was reviewing the conditions in which the African Americans were being treated in the South during the early 1900s (Hitzeroth and Leon 12). Thurgood Marshall overcame discrimination by pursuing his dreams of going into law despite the racism around him at the time, becoming the first African-American Supreme Court Judge, and fighting for equal rights for all people.
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...
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..., the combined fighting forces of Thurgood Marshall and the other “fighters” of the Civil Rights Movement were an important part fighting for the equality of all Americans. Thurgood Marshall said in his 1992 4th of July speech, “Knock down the fences that divide. Tear apart the walls that imprison. Reach out; freedom lies just on the other side” (Hitzeroth and Leon 99).
Works Cited
Hitzeroth, Deborah, and Sharon Leon. Thurgood Marshall. San Diego, CA: Lucent,
1997. Print.
Paddok, Lisa. “Thurgood Marshall.” The Sixties in America. Ed. Singleton Carl. 3 vols.
Salem Press, 1999. Salem History. Web. 21 March 2014.
"Thurgood Marshall Biography." Thurgood Marshall Biography. Thurgood Marshall
College, n.d. Web. 19 March 2014.
Tushnet, Mark. “Marshall, Thurgood.” World Book Student. World Book, 2014. Web. 21
March 2014.
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The author mentions that another beginning factor that assisted in forming Thurgood Marshall’s perspectives involve...
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Thurgood Marshall was an American jurist and the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Prior to becoming a judge, he was a lawyer who was best remembered for his high success rate in arguing before the Supreme Court and for the victory in Brown v. Board of Education.
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