Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the US Supreme Court from 1967 to 1991. He was the first African American to hold that position, and was one of the most influential legal actors of his time. Before being appointed to the Supreme Court by President Lyndon Johnson, Marshall was a lawyer, best remembered for the victory of Brown v. Board of Education. He argued more cases before the Supreme Court than anyone else in history, and had a great success rate.

Through this short overview accompanied by primary sources, students will learn what Marshall did (and did not do) during his life, why those actions were important, and what effects his efforts had on the larger course of American history.