Thurgood Marshall: The Making of America #6

Book six in the Making of America series tells the story of Supreme Court justice and civil rights activist Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) was a US Supreme Court justice and important civil rights activist. The book traces his life from his childhood in Baltimore, where he faced racial segregation at school, to his years at Howard University School of Law (he was denied admittance to white law schools) and his legal work with the NAACP. Marshall argued 32 cases before the Supreme Court--more than anyone else in history--especially against those cases that attempted to justify Jim Crow segregation. He became the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court, serving from 1967-1991.

The story of the brilliant lawyer who successfully argued the case that ended legal racial segregation in America

When Thurgood Marshall--the great grandson of a slave--was born, African Americans were denied equal rights in America. Segregation was legal. Lynching was common. In some places, African Americans were entirely excluded from public life; they were forbidden to enter public parks and museums or use public swimming pools and restrooms.

After being denied admission to the University of Maryland Law School because of his race, Marshall enrolled at Howard University. He graduated first in his class and set out as a young lawyer determined to achieve equality for all Americans. Here is the story of how he did it--how he devised his legal strategy for expanding "we the people," to include all people.

Thurgood Marshall explores his life, from his childhood in Baltimore to his trailblazing career as a civil rights lawyer, and finally his years as a United States Supreme Court justice.