H. Con. Res. 381 Agreed to July 16, 2008 

One Hundred Tenth Congress 

of the 

United States of America 

AT THE SECOND SESSION 

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Thursday, 

the third day of January, two thousand and eight 

Concurrent Resolution 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall was born in Baltimore, Maryland, 

on July 2, 1908, the grandson of a slave; 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall developed an interest in the Constitution and the rule of law in his youth; 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall graduated from Lincoln University 

in Pennsylvania with honors in 1930, but was denied acceptance 

at the all-white University of Maryland Law School because he 

was African-American; 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall attended law school at Howard University, the country’s most prominent black university, and graduated first in his class in 1933; 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall served as the legal director of the 

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People 

(NAACP) from 1940 to 1961; 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall argued 32 cases before the Supreme 

Court of the United States, beginning with the case of Chambers 

v. Florida in 1940, and won 29 of them, earning more victories 

in the Supreme Court than any other individual; 

Whereas, as Chief Counsel of the NAACP, Thurgood Marshall 

fought to abolish segregation in schools and challenged laws 

that discriminated against African-Americans; 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall argued Brown v. Board of Education 

before the Supreme Court in 1954, which resulted in the famous 

decision declaring racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, overturning the 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson; 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall was nominated to the United States 

Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit by President John F. 

Kennedy in 1961, and was confirmed by the United States Senate 

in spite of heavy opposition from many Southern Senators; 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall served on the United States Court 

of Appeals for the Second Circuit from 1961 to 1965, during 

which time he wrote 112 opinions, none of which were overturned 

on appeal; 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall was nominated as Solicitor General 

of the United States by President Lyndon Johnson, and served 

as the first African-American Solicitor General from 1965 to 

1967; 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall was nominated as an Associate Justice 

of the Supreme Court by President Johnson in 1967, and served 

as the first African-American member of the Supreme Court; 
H. Con. Res. 381—2 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall sought to protect the rights of all 

Americans during his 24 years as a justice on the Supreme 

Court; 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall was honored with the Liberty Medal 

in 1992, in recognition of his long history of protecting the rights 

of women, children, prisoners, and the homeless; and 

Whereas Thurgood Marshall died on January 24, 1993, at the 

age of 84: Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That Congress— 

(1) honors the dedication and achievements of Thurgood 

Marshall; 

(2) recognizes the contributions of Thurgood Marshall to 

the struggle for equal rights and justice in the United States; 

and 

(3) celebrates the lifetime achievements of Thurgood Marshall on the 100th anniversary of his birth. 

Attest: 

Clerk of the House of Representatives. 

Attest: 

Secretary of the Senate.