Why Is Thurgood Marshall Important

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Thurgood Marshall was the first African American Justice on the Supreme Court. As a judge, he fought for individual rights along with equality for everyone. Marshall’s hard work and determination helped put an end to discrimination against African Americans as well as racial segregation. Not only did he fight for his own people but he also made an impact on particular areas such as the environment, failure to report for and to serve in the armed forces, the right of appeal of people convicted of drug charges, and the rights of Native Americans.In addition to that he established protections under the law for prisoners, children, women, and the homeless. Despite the racial discrimination, Thurgood Marshall strived to make a change in the justice system, and left an impact on the modern U.S. Judicial Branch, through assisting in the Civil Rights Movement (Thurgood Marshall’s Legacy).
July 2, 1908, in Baltimore, Maryland, Norma Erica Williams gave birth to her second son., Thurgood Marshall, with her husband William Canfield Marshall. The Marshall’s lived a comfortable
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Board of Education of Topeka. This lawsuit was filed under the group of parents of African American students who were forced to attend all black-segregated schools. With an unanimous vote, the court ruled that the doctrine “separate but equal” established by Plessy v. Ferguson case in 1896, was unconstitutional. In this case Marshall challenged the idea of racial segregation. The doctrine “separate but equal” was found to be unconstitutional because the “separate education facilities are inherently unequal”(Thurgood Marshall Biography).Thus it violated the Fourteenth Amendment specifically its Equal Protection Clause. The Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka established the legal foundation as well as providing insight for the American Civil Rights Movement