Thurgood Marshall Research Paper

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Thurgood Marshall was an American lawyer, serving as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from October 1967 until October 1991. Marshall was born July 2, 1908 in Baltimore,MD. Thurgood Marshall was a descendant from slaves from both sides of his family. Thurgood also known as “Thoroughgood” was his original name but he shortened it to his known name Thurgood. Thurgood’s father William Marshall worked as a railroad porter, and his mother Norma worked as teacher. As a young boy Thurgood’s mother and father instilled in him an appreciation for the U.S. Constitution and the Rule of law. Marshall went to Henry Highland Garnet School as a kid then, attended at Frederick Douglass High School, and was placed in a class with really smart kids. Marshall graduated in 1925 with a B-grade average, Marshall placed …show more content…

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

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