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In this powerful 15-lecture audio series from award-winning law professor David L. Hudson Jr., you’ll follow the trajectory that led Marshall to become a transformational counsel for the NAACP and in 1967 the first African American Supreme Court justice. He sat on the court for 24 years, leaving an indelible impact in many areas of law. You’ll understand why Justice Elena Kagan has called him “the most important lawyer of the 20th century”.

Thurgood Marshall was one of the original forces behind the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), one of the organizations that advocated the rights of African Americans in the 20th century. His pursuit of civil rights reached a highpoint when, as a lawyer, he helped the NAACP win Brown vs. Board of Education, the Supreme Court case that ended segregation in education in American public schools.

When Thurgood Marshall - the great-grandson of a slave - was born, African Americans were denied equal rights in America. Segregation was legal. Lynching was common. In some places, African Americans were entirely excluded from public life; they were forbidden to enter public parks and museums or use public swimming pools and restrooms. After being denied admission to the University of Maryland Law School because of his race, Marshall enrolled at Howard University. He graduated first in his class and set out as a young lawyer determined to achieve equality for all Americans.