The Legacy of Thurgood Marshall
Explore the life and impact of Thurgood Marshall, a pivotal figure in the American Civil Rights Movement and the first African American Supreme Court Justice.
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The Legacy of Thurgood Marshall
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Read each question carefully and answer to the best of your ability. Use complete sentences for short answer questions.
Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) was an American lawyer and civil rights activist who served as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from October 1967 until October 1991. Marshall was the Court's first African American justice.
1. Which landmark Supreme Court case, successfully argued by Thurgood Marshall, declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students to be unconstitutional?
Plessy v. Ferguson
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Brown v. Board of Education
Miranda v. Arizona
2. Before being appointed to the Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall served as the chief counsel for which civil rights organization?
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
Congress of Racial Equality (CORE)
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)
3. Thurgood Marshall was the first African American to serve as a of the United States Supreme Court.
4. Marshall attended University School of Law, where he graduated first in his class.
5. Explain the significance of Thurgood Marshall's argument in the 'separate but equal' doctrine.
6. Describe one major challenge Thurgood Marshall faced in his early career as a civil rights lawyer.
7. Thurgood Marshall was appointed to the Supreme Court by President John F. Kennedy.
True
False
8. Thurgood Marshall's legal strategies primarily focused on challenging segregation in housing.
True
False