Description

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Much has been written about Thurgood Marshall, but this is the first book to collect his own words. Here are briefs he filed as a lawyer, oral arguments for the landmark school desegregation cases, investigative reports on race riots and racism in the Army, speeches and articles outlining the history of civil rights and criticizing the actions of more conservative jurists, Supreme Court opinions now widely cited in Constitutional law, a long and complete oral autobiography, and much more. Marshall’s impact on American race relations was greater than that of anyone else this century, for it was he who ended legal segregation in the United States. His victories as a lawyer for the NAACP broke the color line in housing, transportation, voting, and schools by overturning the long-established “separate-but-equal” doctrine. But Marshall was attentive to all social inequalities: no Supreme Court justice has ever been more consistent in support of freedom of expression, affirmative action, women’s rights, abortion rights, and the right to consensual sex among adults; no justice has ever fought so hard against economic inequality, police brutality, and capital punishment.

About the Author

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Mark V. Tushnet is a professor of constitutional law at Georgetown University Law Center and is the author of Making Civil Rights Law: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court, 1936–1961 and Making Constitutional Law: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court, 1961–1991. He lives in Washington, D.C.

Praise For…

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“Thurgood Marshall was more than a crusader for justice, more than a torch-bearer for liberty; he was a teacher who taught us to believe in the shield of justice and the sword of truth.”  —Vernon Jordan

“Much has been written about the man, but the new book Thurgood Marshall: His Speeches, Writings, Arguments, Opinions and Reminiscences is the first to collect his own words, offering a comprehensive selection of his most significant writings.”  —Bookshelf

“A welcome anthology of Mr. Marshall's professional writings as lawyer, judge and storyteller . . . an invaluable collection”  —The Lawyer's Bookshelf