August 30, 1967 - Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall becomes first African American Supreme Court justice. Thurgood Marshall wanted to be a dentist but ended up a U.S. Supreme Court judge. Born in Baltimore, Maryland on July 2, 1908, Thurgood attended public schools before studying law. After a short time in private practice, he joined the legal team of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), soon winning some of the most important anti-discrimination decisions at the high court. Appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals by President Kennedy, and given the post of solicitor general under President Johnson, Marshall was eventually elevated to Supreme Court justice. When President Johnson nominated Marshall, he said it was "the right thing to do, the right time to do it, the right man and the right place." On August 30, 1967, the Senate approved Marshall’s appointment 69 to 11, making him the first African American to sit on the top bench. Of the 11 senators who opposed his appointment, 10 were from the South. Marshall retired from the court in 1991 and died in 1993 at the age of 84.

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