Marshall Confirmed: First Black Supreme Court Justice
Thurgood Marshall was confirmed as the first African American Supreme Court Justice on August 30, 1967, by a Senate vote of 69-11, after President Lyndon Johnson nominated him in June. Marshall had already changed American law more than most justices ever do: as chief counsel for the NAACP, he argued 32 cases before the Supreme Court and won 29, including Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, which declared school segregation unconstitutional. On the bench, Marshall served 24 years as a consistent liberal voice, particularly on criminal justice and racial equality. When asked how he wanted to be remembered, he said: "That he did what he could with what he had."
August 30, 1967
59 years ago
Key Figures & Places
Supreme Court of the United States
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African American
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Thurgood Marshall
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Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the Unit
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Justice
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Thurgood Marshall
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African American
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Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
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Supreme Court of the United States
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