1908-1993
Civil Rights Leader and Supreme Court Justice

A Catalyst for Change.

Thurgood Marshall was born on 2 July 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland. Earlier that summer there had been a riot in which two black men were lynched in Springfield, Illinois. For many blacks and white liberals the brutalities were a call to action. A series of meetings ensued which, within a year, resulted in the formation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). This was an organization upon which Marshall would have profound effects. It also was where he formed his legal reputation, which ultimately led to his appointment to the Supreme Court in 1967.

From Humble Beginnings.

Marshall's great-grandfather had been a slave who was freed by his Maryland owner. Marshall's father was a proud man who worked for a time as a railroad porter and later as a steward at a country...