"The Negro who was once enslaved by law became emancipated by it, and is achieving equality through it. Provided it is adequately enforced, law can change things for the better, moreover, it can change the hearts of men, for law has an educational function," (Commire, 1994). Thurgood Marshall once said this powerful statement about how the rights of African Americans developed over from past times, and should be developed in the future. During his career in civil rights, Thurgood fought for African American rights as a lawyer and as the first African American Supreme Court Justice. Thurgood Marshall created a more equally educated society by using persistence to expand the roles and importance of African Americans and demolishing prejudices
…show more content…
First, by serving in several civil rights cases, Thurgood Marshall made America aware about how segregated schools were unjust and unfair. He worked in cases such as the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) in which he fought to destroy the “separate but equal” ruling from the Plessy v. Ferguson case (1896). Marshall believed that “separate but equal” not only was unrealistic to reality, but also had a psychological effect on young African American children (Schneider, 2016). He once stated that he wanted to, “wipe out all phases of segregation in education from professional school to kindergarten,”(Schneider, 2016). This was one of the many cases of which he worked tirelessly, winning 29 out of 32 cases (Altman, 1989, p.184-187). At the time, these were exceptionally high numbers for an African American lawyer to succeed in, especially because of the extreme prejudice against African Americans. One of those winning cases forced Little Rock High School in Arkansas to be fully integrated (Gray, 1956), which was a major gain for the civil rights movement at the time. Even after his time working for the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Education Fund (Schneider, 2016), Thurgood Marshall continued to work toward creating a world in which every child could achieve a level of higher education, regardless of their …show more content…
He illuminated the idea that the color of your skin should not affect your right to a proper education and opportunities. In cases such as the monumental Brown v. Board of Education, Marshall helped to uncover the injustice of unequal education. In his time as a justice, Marshall brought light to the laws of America by giving his say on issues such as civil rights, the death penalty, and educational equality (Riggs, 2015). Consequently, Marshall illuminated the real impact of the Supreme Court on people's lives from a different perspective by bringing up how the justices’ decisions can decide whether someone goes to school, lives or dies, or goes to jail (Bloch, 1992). As a minority, Marshall could better relate to the common population, unlike like his other justices because he came from a modest background. Thurgood Marshall spent his life illuminating the world by improving and creating the concepts of racial equality, equal education, and
First, by serving in several civil rights cases, Thurgood Marshall made America aware about how segregated schools were unjust and unfair. He worked in cases such as the Brown v. Board of Education (1954) in which he fought to destroy the “separate but equal” ruling from the Plessy v. Ferguson case (1896). Marshall believed that “separate but equal” not only was unrealistic to reality, but also had a psychological effect on young African American children (Schneider, 2016). He once stated that he wanted to, “wipe out all phases of segregation in education from professional school to kindergarten,”(Schneider, 2016). This was one of the many cases of which he worked tirelessly, winning 29 out of 32 cases (Altman, 1989, p.184-187). At the time, these were exceptionally high numbers for an African American lawyer to succeed in, especially because of the extreme prejudice against African Americans. One of those winning cases forced Little Rock High School in Arkansas to be fully integrated (Gray, 1956), which was a major gain for the civil rights movement at the time. Even after his time working for the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Education Fund (Schneider, 2016), Thurgood Marshall continued to work toward creating a world in which every child could achieve a level of higher education, regardless of their …show more content…
He illuminated the idea that the color of your skin should not affect your right to a proper education and opportunities. In cases such as the monumental Brown v. Board of Education, Marshall helped to uncover the injustice of unequal education. In his time as a justice, Marshall brought light to the laws of America by giving his say on issues such as civil rights, the death penalty, and educational equality (Riggs, 2015). Consequently, Marshall illuminated the real impact of the Supreme Court on people's lives from a different perspective by bringing up how the justices’ decisions can decide whether someone goes to school, lives or dies, or goes to jail (Bloch, 1992). As a minority, Marshall could better relate to the common population, unlike like his other justices because he came from a modest background. Thurgood Marshall spent his life illuminating the world by improving and creating the concepts of racial equality, equal education, and