Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall was an American lawyer, civil rights activist, and jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1967 to 1991. He was the first Black justice to serve on the Supreme Court and is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of American law.

Marshall was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1908 and graduated from Howard University School of Law in 1933. After law school, he worked for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and served as the organization’s chief counsel from 1938 to 1961. Marshall argued several landmark cases before the Supreme Court, including Brown v. Board of Education, which challenged the doctrine of “separate but equal” and led to the desegregation of public schools.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed Marshall to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him to the position of Solicitor General of the United States. In 1967, Johnson nominated Marshall to the Supreme Court, where he served until his retirement in 1991.

During his tenure on the Supreme Court, Marshall was known for his commitment to civil rights and his defense of individual liberties. He authored several landmark opinions, including a dissenting opinion in Bowers v. Hardwick, which upheld the constitutionality of a Georgia law criminalizing homosexual sodomy. Marshall argued that the law violated the fundamental right to privacy and was an infringement on individual liberty.

In 1993, the United States Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp honoring Marshall’s life and achievements. The stamp features a portrait of Marshall and the text “Thurgood Marshall, American Champion of Justice” in the corner. The stamp serves as a tribute to Marshall’s legacy as a civil rights activist and legal pioneer.