Thurgood Marshall (Journey to Freedom)

Rating:
Summary: A book that does justice to the life of Thurgood Marshall
Review: Carla Williams' juvenile biography of Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American justice on the U.S. Supreme Court is one of the best volumes in the Journey to Freedom series, a excellent collection of reference books committed to educating children about the achievements and contributions of noted African Americans. We learn that Marshall had shortened his first name from Thoroughgood, his paternal grandfather who had been born a slave, while his maternal grandfather, Isaiah Williams, had been born free. A pivotal moment in Marshall's life comes when he attends Lincoln University, the first American university for black students, where he was a classmate fo the poet Langston Hughes. The students voted to determine if they wanted to add black teachers to the faculty; Marshall voted against the idea until Hughes convinced him that black students needed black teachers as role models. Students will find it instructive that such a major figure in the Civil Rights movement as Thurgood Marshall could have taken such a position once upon a time.

Young readers of this biography will come away with a very clear appreciation of Marshall's impressive body of work as a lawyer and a jurist. There was even a song called "Thurgood Marshall, Mr. Civil Rights" that was sung to the tune of "The Ballad of Davy Crockett." Marshall won 29 of 32 cases he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court and never had any decisions overturned or reversed when he was appointed by President Kennedy as the first African American to serve on the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. As Solicitor General Marshall continued his record of arguing and winning more cases before the Supreme Court than anybody else. Consequently, when President Johnson appointed Marshall to the nation's highest court, there could be no doubt about his qualifications. Williams reminds us that as a young student at Howard University, Marshall had often come to the Supreme Court to listen to the cases being argued.

This book deals with Marshall's strong beliefs throughout, such as his disapproval of Civil Right protests and "sit-ins," because he feared they would become violent and unsafe. Williams makes a point of explaining why Marshall used the words "Negro" and "colored" rather than "African American" or "black." She relates how Marshall did appreciate the University of Maryland naming its Law School after him, since the school had refused to admit him as a student. Nor did Marshall approve of Clarence Thomas, the conservative African-American judge appointed to replace him on the Court when he retired. Thomas is effectively dismissed with the declaration that he thought Brown vs. Board of Education, Marshall's most famous landmark decision overturning the farcical doctrine of "separate but equal," was decided incorrectly (I am not surprised to note there is not a Clarence Thomas volume in this series, which does include contemporary figures like Colin Powell and Maya Angelou).

This volume does justice to the life and memory of Thurgood Marshall. Young students who have never read about his inspiring life are going to discover that it will be hard for them not to consider Marshall a hero. During Black History Month, or any class unit that covers the Civil Rights movement or the U.S. Supreme Court, Thurgood Marshall is someone students need to learn about and remember.