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Thurgood Marshall

Marshall Remembered During 54th Anniversary of Landmark Case

By Angela Swinson Lee
Special to the NNPA from the Washington Informer

   WASHINGTON (NNPA—Growing up as the son of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, John Marshall said he didn’t win a lot of arguments in his home. As a teen, he thought he had finally won a dispute that would result in his father getting him a mini-bike.
    But one evening, his father arrived home and handed his younger son the car keys and told him there was something for him in the trunk. The youngster raced outside, anxious to get what he thought was his mini-bike. Instead, he found a box that contained documents explaining that it is illegal to operate mini-bikes in the state of Virginia.
   “He had taken away from me my greatest victory ever,” John Marshall joked while serving as a keynote speaker on May 17 at the St. Augustine’s Episcopal Church in Southwest D.C. during an event honoring his late father.
    About 160 participants attended the dinner, which served as the commemoration of the 54th anniversary of Brown vs. the Board of Education. The case, which was argued by the civil rights leader, led to the desegregation of schools.
    The event, entitled “A Mighty Flood of Justice – A River of Righteous Living,” was celebrated in collaboration with an attempt by the church to get Marshall on the Sanctoral Calendar in the Book of Lesser Feasts and Fasts, which would establish a yearly observance of Marshall in the Episcopal Church. A resolution was passed by St. Augustine’s in 2005. A second reading will be held in 2009 at the Episcopal Church Convention in California.
    Typically, such honors are only bestowed 50 years after a person’s death. Marshall died in 1993.
   “We’ve tried to start a movement to celebrate May 17 as Thurgood Marshall Day,” said the Reverend Martha K. Clark, pastor of St. Augustine’s, where Marshall was a member.  His wife, Cecilia “Cissy” Marshall, is still a member. Clark added that having someone named in the book is the “closest we get to making anybody a saint.”

Posted May 28, 2008

   John Marshall described his father as a man who loved his family, his God and his country.
    He challenged the audience to help the legacy of his father live on forever.
“We can all make a difference, simply by treating everyone with respect and dignity,” he said. “By doing so, we make sure that the message of Thurgood Marshall will live on forever.”
Elaine Jones, president and director-counsel emeritus for the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, said Thurgood Marshall gave his best throughout his legal career.
   “When you look at this period with his life, you could teach several courses in law school,” Jones said, adding that students could look at Marshall and learn about housing discrimination, pro bono work, advocacy, jurisprudence, community organizing and the political process.
    Through his pro bono work, Jones said Thurgood Marshall taught the country a valuable lesson in life.
“You do what’s right, and you’ll be taken care of,” she said.
    In addition to St. Augustine’s, the program was presented as a partnership with St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in southwest and the Thurgood Marshall Center Trust, Inc.
    St. Matthews is in the process of building the Thurgood and Cecilia Marshall Southwest Community Center, which the Reverend Phillip C. Huber, the church’s pastor, said would open doors of opportunity for young people in the community. Michael Mack, of Northwest, said he participated in the event because he supports the cause.
Mack said, “I’m committed to educating people on justice issues.”

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