August 30, 1967: Thurgood Marshall, First Black Supreme Court Justice

A Brief History

On August 30, 1967, the United States Senate confirmed Thurgood Marshall as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States by a vote of 69-11, the first African-American so confirmed.

Digging Deeper

Marshall, formerly the Chief Counsel for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and appointed a Federal Appeals Court judge by President Kennedy in 1961, had been working as United States Solicitor General (appointed by President Johnson in 1965), the first African-American to hold that position.

It was as counsel for the NAACP that Marshall earned his reputation, successfully arguing in front of the Supreme Court the epic Brown v. Board of Education case of 1954, as well as several other cases before our highest court. Marshall definitely had the credentials for appointment to the Supreme Court, perhaps some of the best ever.

President Johnson predicted that many black baby boys would be named Thurgood in honor of the historic appointment. Interestingly, Marshall enjoyed a cordial relationship with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, a known enemy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Marshall served until 1991 when he retired, and died 2 years later of heart disease at the age of 84. Numerous schools, memorials and the like are named in his honor, and the Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport also bears his name (since 2005). In a political twist, Marshall was replaced on the Supreme Court by Clarence Thomas, the second African-American Supreme Court Justice, appointed as a conservative justice by a Republican President (GHW Bush). Ebony Magazine has called Marshall “The most important black man of this century.”

President Johnson was not quite on target with his prediction of so many babies being named “Thurgood” as the name has never broken into the top 1000 names in the US (although as a last name it is in the 29th percentile). The name stems from a Puritan origin referring to virtue, perhaps “thoroughly good,” certainly a good description of this great Justice. In fact, his actual name at birth was “Thoroughgood.” Marshall grew up in Baltimore and attended Lincoln University, and later the Howard University School of Law, where he graduated 1st in his class.

Question for students (and subscribers): How do you rank Thurgood Marshall among important African-American men? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

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