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Thurgood Marshall: The legacy of a legal trailblazer

This college-level narrative essay example, written in Turabian style by our writer, delves into the life of charismatic Thurgood Marshall, who played a pivotal role in America’s racial justice movement. The story takes readers through his years growing up in racially segregated Baltimore, his education under the influential mentorship of Charles Hamilton Houston, through his work with the NAACP, up to the case of Brown v. Board of Education. In this narrative essay, our paper writer underlines how Marshall kept insisting on the existence of laws that were not fair and how he reshaped the Supreme Court's decisions. It is through his resistance and perseverance that Marshall changed the meaning of justice. The essay example points to his legacy as a rallying call for generations to come to be outspoken in matters of equality and bravery.

November 2, 2024

* The sample essays are for browsing purposes only and are not to be submitted as original work to avoid issues with plagiarism.

Thurgood Marshall: The Legacy of a Legal Trailblazer

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Thurgood Marshall: The Legacy of a Legal Trailblazer

Thurgood Marshall, in his life's journey, was the grit, defiance against injustice, and

pursuit of equality. He grew up in a Baltimore neighborhood well demarcated by racial

barriers in the early 20th century.1His parents, mainly his father, taught him to love debate

and to challenge unfairness. Through these lessons, Marshall's life would unwind to change

American society forever.

But his path was not quite easy. He had wanted to go to his home state's law school,

but was denied admission by virtue of race alone.2He went on to attend Howard University

Law School, where he studied under one Charles Hamilton Houston, a strict law professor

who set his sights on the destruction of segregation. Houston would become Marshall's

mentor and reform his methods of law to take on one of the biggest causes for their

generation: racial discrimination.3

Marshall did not shy away from taking on unfounded laws as he built up his career.

The work which he was doing with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored

People, or NAACP, made him very prominent quite soon. All over the country, Marshall

traveled and defended Black Americans against trials that were unfair, hence accusing Blacks

of racially hateful crimes. He risked his life many times, putting his life at risk in doing so,

but for him, it was a needed sacrifice because justice would prevail.

The turning point in Marshall's career came with the historic case of Brown v. Board

of Education in 1954.4He led the legal team in arguing before the Supreme Court that what

was called the doctrine of "separate but equal" was intrinsically faulty and unconstitutional

4Ibid., 33

3Ibid., 21-22

2Ibid., 21

1Marshall, Thurgood. Thurgood Marshall: His Speeches, Writings, Arguments, Opinions, and Reminiscences.

Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2001.

insofar as it allowed segregation.5He gave not only legal arguments but also impressive

sociological data on the injurious effects of segregation on African American children.6It was

not until several attempts later that it was Marshall who finally did this: the Supreme Court

ruled in the desegregation of the public schools, a decision to turn the course of American

history.

Yet even after Brown v. Board of Education, Marshall's work was not done. President

Lyndon B. Johnson was impressed with his work, and in 1967 he nominated him to the

Supreme Court.7Thurgood Marshall became the first African American Supreme Court

Justice and served 24 years when he was confirmed. Even on the Court, he kept on vocally

pushing for such causes of the marginalized, championing the rights of the individual and to

safeguard civil liberties.8

His legacy goes beyond his courtroom victories; it reflects his unbroken spirit and

faith in equality. But he saw himself as a hero who was carrying out his part to make the

promises of the Constitution come true for all Americans.9He did not see himself as a hero

but rather as someone fulfilling his duty to make the Constitution's promises come true for all

Americans. His legacy served as a reminder that for justice to be observed, one must have

persistence and courage, and at times throughout one's life one must persist in order to effect

lasting change.10

The life story of Thurgood Marshall reminds us of the power of resilience and what

one person can do to change the world. He showed us well from his life that the quest for

justice was not for the cowardly but for the giant who rises to claim what is rightfully his, no

10 Ibid., 151

9Ibid., 147

8Ibid., 147

7Ibid.,35

6Ibid., 33

5Marshall, Thurgood. Thurgood Marshall: His Speeches, Writings, Arguments, Opinions, and Reminiscences.

Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2001.

matter the price. May his legacy add voice to future generations loud enough to struggle

onward to a more just and equitable society.

Bibliography

Marshall, Thurgood. Thurgood Marshall: His Speeches, Writings, Arguments, Opinions, and

Reminiscences. Chicago: Chicago Review Press, 2001.

November 2, 2024

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Academic level:

Undergraduate 1-2

Type of paper:

Narrative essay

Discipline:

History

Citation:

Turabian

Pages:

2 (585 words)