Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall was a trailblazing American jurist and civil rights activist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 to 1991. Born on July 2, 1898, in Baltimore, Maryland, Marshall grew up in a family of modest means and was the great-nephew of Frederick Douglass, a former slave and prominent abolitionist. Marshall's early life was marked by racial segregation and discrimination, which fueled his passion for social justice and equality. Throughout his career, Marshall was a tireless advocate for civil rights, arguing 32 cases before the Supreme Court, including Brown v. Board of Education, which led to the desegregation of public schools. He was also a key figure in the NAACP, serving as its chief counsel from 1940 to 1961. Marshall's appointment to the Supreme Court in 1967 made him the first African American to serve on the bench, and he went on to become a champion of individual rights and liberties, earning the respect and admiration of his colleagues and the nation.