Racial Segregation

Racial Segregation in the United States is one of the countries most negative enforcements in history. Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation had promised freedom but racial segregation was everywhere decades after this event. Segregation is the separation of humans into ethnic or racial groups in daily life. This includes activities such as :eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, riding on a bus, or in the rental or purchase of a home. Many people during the time of Civils Rights Movement had been recognized for their leadership. All these leaders had different methods to try and end legal segregation in the United States, many successful but not all. One of
the most successful influencers in the Civil Rights Movement ending legal segregation was Thurgood Marshall. Marshall is one of the most successful and prominent lawyers in American history. In Thurgoods upcoming of success he had to face many conflicts impacting him. He also had to deal with major problems that did not only impact him but a whole society. Marshalls success as person contributes to his tremendous hard work in school and multiple law cases he won. Thurgood Marshall was born on July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland. Thurgood had lived with his mother, father, and brother. His mother, Norma, was a an elementary school teacher. His father, William, was a waiter and a steward at an exclusive club. His brothers name was William Aubrey Marshall. His family had been fit in the middle class based on their family’s wealth. Marshall had attended public schools in Baltimore growing up. Marshall had live his first five years in Harlem, New York before moving back to his home town, Baltimore. When Marshall started school, he shortened his first name to the more manageable "Thurgood." He was named "Thoroughgood" after his paternal grandfather, who had served in the Union Army during the Civil War, before he changed his name. In 1929 Thurgood married his first wife Vivian Burey until her death in 1955. Thurgood had later married Cecilia Suyat. Who was his secretary. They had two children, Thurgood Jr. and John Marshall. Thurgood is noted as a very successful person; a lot of his success contributes to the tremendous hard work he put in school and education. Marshall was a popular student and was fun to be around in high school. Marshall had not been the perfect student, sometimes getting himself into trouble. “Whenever Thurgood got into trouble at school, he was made to memorize sections of the U.S. Constitution,” (Encyclopedia of World Biography). This punishment had helped Marshall later in his life. This punishment had helped him by having this knowledge in his legal career. “After graduating high school, despite Marshall's poor grades, his parents sent him to Lincoln University, a highly regarded black college in Oxford, Pennsylvania, working a number of jobs to pay his tuition” (Historic World Leaders). He became more serious about his studies after being suspended briefly in his second year. “After graduating from Lincoln with honors in 1930, Marshall applied to the University of Maryland Law School. Despite being overqualified academically, Marshall was rejected because of his race” (Historic World Leaders). This first hand experience with discrimination in education made a lasting impression on Marshall and helped determine the future course of his career. While attending Howard University Charles Houston quickly adopted Marshall as his protégé and Marshall excelled and graduated at the top of his class. Marshall’s career was very successful and during that success he had won many cases.
In one of Marshall's first cases, alongside his mentor, Charles Houston, he defended another well-qualified undergraduate, Donald Murray. Murray had been attendance to the University of Maryland Law Schools. “Marshall and Houston won Murray v. Pearson in January 1936”(Historic World Leaders), being the first in a timeline of cases dealing with legal segregation in the United States. In 1936 Marshall had moved to New York City working full time legal counsel for the NAACP. Thurgood had won multiple cases to take down forms of legalized racism. “Marshall's first victory before the Supreme Court came in Chambers v. Florida (1940), in which he successfully defended four black men who had been convicted of murder on the basis of confessions coerced from them by police” (Historic World Leaders). This was just another step towards ending legal segregation. The greatest achievement in Thurgood’s career was was his victory in the Brown vs. Board Education. “The class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of a group of black parents in Topeka, Kansas on behalf of their children forced to attend all-black segregated schools. Through Brown v. Board, one of the most important cases of the 20th century”(Historic World Leaders). The Supreme Court unanimously ruled that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal," and therefore racial segregation of public schools violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment. The case established much of the inspiration, for the American Civil Rights Movement that unfolded over the next decade. The case had also established Marshall as one of the most successful and prominent lawyers in
America. Marshalls much success as person contributes to his tremendous hard work in school and multiple law cases he won. He is one of the most successful influencers in the Civil Rights Movement leading to the end of legal segregation. In Thurgoods upcoming of success he had to face many conflicts impacting him. He also had to deal with major problems that did not only impact him but a whole society. Marshall is one of the most successful and prominent lawyers in American history.