Thurgood Marshall was officially sworn in as America’s first black Supreme Court justice this week (Oct. 2) in 1967. Appointed by then-President Lyndon Johnson, Marshall’s confirmation hearings were highly contentious, thanks to a bloc of southern senators opposed to any black man sitting on the land’s highest court.
Then again, facing southern enmity was nothing new to Marshall. Since becoming the chief lawyer for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1936, he had waged the legal battle against segregation virtually alone, arguing most of the NAACP’s civil rights cases in hostile courtrooms throughout the South. Those years had helped sharpen both his legal skills and his survival skills, since he often faced physical harm and even death by southerners enraged at the very sight of an educated black man, let alone one attempting to end one of their most ingrained cultural institutions. In one Mississippi town, he would recall years later, a citizen had informed him that “the sun ain’t nevah set on a live [Negro] in this town,” prompting Marshall to temporarily set aside his faith in constitutional guarantees and catch the next train out of town.
Those years also taught him a lot about the segregationist’s mindset, which he used to great effect when he argued his — and arguably America’s — most famous civil liberties case before the Supreme Court, Brown vs. The Board of Education. In that landmark case, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the “separate but equal” doctrine that had served as the foundation for the South’s segregated public school system violated the 14th Amendment, and was therefore illegal.
With that victory, Marshall and the NAACP set the stage for the civil rights movement that would later burgeon under leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr.
Not surprisingly, during the 24 years he spent on the Supreme Court, Marshall became an advocate for what he perceived were Americans’ fundamental civil rights. He argued against discrimination based on race or sex; he opposed the death penalty as being “cruel and unusual punishment” (and disproportionally applied to minorities); he supported affirmative action; and believed women had a legal right to an abortion.
An unabashed liberal, Marshall spent his last years on the court increasingly in the minority as Republican presidents appointed more conservative justices, and by the time he retired in 1991, he was known mostly for his sharp dissents.
Someone once asked Marshall for his definition of “equal.” He replied, “Equal means getting the same thing at the same time and in the same place.” The “thing” Marshall most wanted all Americans to get, at the same time and place, was the equal opportunity to reach their full potential as U.S. citizens.
Bruce G. Kauffmann’s email address is bruce@
historylessons.net.
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BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSONS: Thurgood Marshall: A Life in the Law
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BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSONS: Montgomery Meigs establishes Arlington National Cemetery
This week (June 15) in 1864, Brig. Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, who had been appointed Quartermaster General of the Union Army in 1861, established Arlington House, the former home of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, as a cemetery for the Union’s soldiers. Today Arlington National Cemetery is America’s national military burial ground.
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BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSONS: This week in 1944: D-Day and the Airborne assault on Normandy
This week (June 5) in 1944, with the D-Day invasion of the Nazi-occupied Normandy coast set to begin, the man in charge of that invasion, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, paid a special visit to members of the U.S. 82nd and the 101st Airborne.
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Terre Haute North, South African-American clubs taking educational journey to Washington, D.C.
Students and teachers from Terre Haute North and South Vigo high schools saw three years of hard work pay off Monday afternoon as they lined up eagerly at the doors of a school bus to start a long ride to Washington, D.C.
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BRUCE’S HISTORY LESSONS: A woman’s voice of moral clarity
This week (June 1) in 1950, Margaret Chase Smith, the Republican senator from Maine and the first woman ever to serve as both a U.S. senator and member of the House of Representatives, gave a speech that, looking back, was a voice of moral clarity amidst a cacophony of madness and vilification.
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Education-technology grants given to Valley
Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz has announced the 2013 Technology Resource Grants, awarded to help organizations purchase technology resources for student instruction in career and technical educations classrooms.
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Turkey Run presents academic awards
Turkey Run High School freshmen, sophomores and juniors were honored at an awards program on May 16.
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Goals, Pride & Achievements
Laci Pethtel of Oblong is the 2013 recipient of the Lincoln Trail College Professional Assistants Group scholarship.
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VCSC to offer summer meals
Sarah Scott Middle School will offer free breakfast and lunch for people 18 years old and younger Monday through June 20.
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Road Runners name scholarship winners
The Wabash Valley Road Runners have named Anne Mullican and Justin Clapp as the recipients of the 2013 WVRR scholarships.
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South student blazes competition with research
Ryan Chung, a junior at Terre Haute South Vigo High School, placed first at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in the computer science category.
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Indiana State University Dean’s List
Indiana State University has announced its dean’s list for the spring 2013 semester. Area students recognized for their academic achievement include:
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RP recognizes outstanding students
Riverton Parke High School’s class of 2013 was honored on May 15 at the annual senior awards night in the school’s cafetorium.
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Student blood donors receive scholarships
Roche Diagnostics and Indiana Blood Center are recognizing 81 high school seniors in Indiana who participate in community service.
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Bruce’s History Lessons: Morse’s telegraph and its impact as a ‘game changer’
This week (May 24) in 1844, Professor Samuel F.B. Morse sat in the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., surrounded by members of Congress, who had come to witness history.
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High schoolers attend automotive, welding skills competitions
Area high school students put their skills to the test at the annual Automotive Skills and Welding Skills competitions on April 18 at Ivy Tech Community College—Wabash Valley.
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Riverton Parke presents concert, music awards
The Riverton Parke Jr.-Sr. High School Music Department presented its annual Spring Concert on May 13 in the school gymnasium.
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Turkey Run senior awards and honors
Turkey Run High School seniors were honored at an awards program May 13. Scholarships and departmental and activity awards were presented.
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South earns national yearbook design honor
The Terre Haute South yearbook, Uaxactun, has been recognized for excellence and featured in the 2013 Gotcha Covered Look Book, Volume 11 celebrating the best-of-the-best in yearbook design and coverage.
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Vincennes University Dean’s List
The Vincennes University Dean’s List for Spring 2013 includes students from the Vincennes campus, Jasper campus, Aviation Technology Center in Indianapolis, military bases, and other extended sites.
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4 more honored as Four Star Schools
In addition to the three Vigo County schools (Terre Haute South Vigo High School, Dixie Bee Elementary and Fayette Elementary schools) that were announced earlier, four more Wabash Valley schools were recognized as Indiana Four Star Schools.
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Bruce’s history lessons: Truman’s decision to recognize Israel
This week (May 14) in 1948, at the direction of President Harry Truman, the United States recognized the existence of the newly formed state of Israel, which had declared independence earlier that day. It was, Truman later stated, among the most important decisions of his presidency.
- Reunion listings: May 16, 2013
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Chances and Services for Youth to participate in food program
The Chances and Services for Youth recently announced plans to participate in the Summer Food Service Program.
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South Latin students compete at convention
Terre Haute South Vigo High School Latin students competed with other Indiana schools at the recent state convention at ISU.
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Southwest Parke School Corp. receives eLearning grant
Southwest Parke Community School Corp. has received an Imagining and Creating eLearning grant for the 2013-2014 school year through the Indiana Department of Education.
- Newsmakers: May 16, 2013
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Otter Creek competes in regional Academic Super Bowl
The Otter Creek Academic Super Bowl teams competed in the regional Academic Super Bowl competition on April 27 at Sarah Scott Middle School.
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Riverton Parke FFA teams compete at April 16 contest
Two Riverton Parke FFA Parliamentary Procedure Teams competed at the section competition for the Parliamentary Procedure Demonstration Contest on April 16 at the Indiana FFA Center in Trafalgar.
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