Heroes for Freedom: Thurgood Marshall — Passage and Quiz

Thurgood Marshall was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1908. As an African American, he grew up experiencing racial discrimination. This inspired him to become a lawyer and fight for equal rights. Marshall attended Howard University School of Law and graduated first in his class.

After law school, Marshall began working for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He traveled around the country, defending people who had been treated unfairly because of their race. One of his most famous cases was Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. In this case, Marshall argued before the Supreme Court that segregation in schools was unconstitutional. He won the case, and this decision helped end racial segregation in American schools.

Marshall won many other important cases that helped advance civil rights. In 1967, he made history when President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him to the Supreme Court. Marshall became the first African American Supreme Court Justice. He served on the court for 24 years, always working to protect the rights of all Americans, especially those who were most vulnerable.

Thurgood Marshall's work as a lawyer and a Supreme Court Justice helped make the United States a fairer and more equal country. He is remembered as one of the most important figures in the fight for civil rights in American history.