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Thurgood Marshall Essay

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Introduction I was the first African-American justice of the Supreme Court, and served for 24 years. I once said, “None of us got here by solely pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps. We got here because somebody bent down and help us pick up our bootstraps.”

I was a civil rights activist, attorney, and judge. I argued and won a variety of cases to end many forms of legalized racism that helped to inspire the American Civil Rights Movement. Some people say that I was instrumental in ending legal segregation that helped earned me an important place in American history, I am Thurgood Marshall.

Early Life
I was born on July 2, 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland to William and Norma Marshall. My father was the grandson of a slave, who worked as a waiter at an exclusive club. My mother was a kindergarten teacher. Both set of my grandparents owned grocery stores, but my father wanted to be independent of them. Fortunately, my family and I enjoyed a comfortable, middle-class living. One of my father’s favorite pastimes was to listen to cases at the local courthouse before returning home. Then he would debate the lawyers ' arguments with my brother, William and me. I believed debating court cases with my father and brother sparked an interest in me becoming a lawyer. Also, my parents placed great importance on education, encouraging my brother and I to think and learn.

Education
I attended Baltimore 's Colored High and Training School. The school has been renamed to Frederick

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