Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood "Reddy Red" Marshall

Hey! My name is Reddy Red! But today, you can call me Thurgood Marshall!

I was the first African American to be appointed an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court in 1967!

I was born in Baltimore, Maryland on July 2nd, 1908 and passed January 24th, 1993.

In 1926, I graduated from Baltimore’s Colored High and Training School (later renamed Frederick Douglass High School) where I became a star member of the Debate Team.

In 1926, I attended a Historically Black College/University (HBCU) named Lincoln University. I also attended Lincoln University with Kwame Nkrumah (the future president of Ghana), poet Langston Hughes, and jazz singer Cab Calloway.

After graduating from Lincoln University in 1930, I was rejected from Maryland Law School because of my race which was the spark to become an activist that I needed. I Then attended Howard University; another HBCU, and graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1933!

In 1934, I began working for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored people (NAACP).

In 1936, I moved to New York City to work full time as a legal counsel for the NAACP. It was here that I began striking down many forms of legalized racism.

In 1954, I won the greatest court case of my career and still stands as one of the greatest trial victories in history, Brown v. Board of Education!

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed me as a judge for the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

In 1967, I became the first African American to be a Supreme Court Judge!

Today, I am Thurgood Marshall! And so are you!