IV 
108TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 509
Honoring and recognizing the achievements of Thurgood Marshall and 
encouraging Congress to award him the Congressional Gold Medal. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 30, 2004
Mr. PAYNE submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the 
Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Honoring and recognizing the achievements of Thurgood 
Marshall and encouraging Congress to award him the 
Congressional Gold Medal.
Whereas Thurgood Marshall, the grandson of a slave, was 
born in Baltimore, Maryland on July 2, 1908; 
Whereas in his youth, Thurgood Marshall developed an inter-
est in the Constitution and the rule of law; 
Whereas despite graduating from Lincoln University in Penn-
sylvania in 1930 with honors, Thurgood Marshall was de-
nied acceptance at the all-white University of Maryland 
Law School because he was an African American;
•HRES 509 IH 
Whereas Thurgood Marshall instead attended law school at 
Howard University, the country’s most prominent black 
university, and graduated first in his class in 1933; 
Whereas from 1940 to 1961, Thurgood Marshall served as 
the legal director of the National Association for the Ad-
vancement of Colored People (NAACP); 
Whereas beginning with the case of Chambers v. Florida in 
1940, Thurgood Marshall argued 32 cases before the Su-
preme Court and won 29 of them, earning more Supreme 
Court victories than any other individual; 
Whereas under his leadership, the NAACP fought to abolish 
segregation in schools and challenged laws that discrimi-
nated against African Americans; 
Whereas in 1954, Thurgood Marshall argued Brown v. Board 
of Education before the Supreme Court, a case which re-
sulted in the famous decision that declared racial seg-
regation in public schools unconstitutional, overturning 
the 1896 decision in Plessy v. Ferguson; 
Whereas in 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed 
Thurgood Marshall to the United States Court of Ap-
peals for the 2nd Circuit despite heavy opposition from 
many southern Senators; 
Whereas Thurgood Marshall served on the United States 
Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit from 1961–1965, 
during which time he wrote 112 opinions, none of which 
was overturned on appeal; 
Whereas in 1965, President Lyndon Johnson appointed 
Thurgood Marshall to the position of Solicitor General, a 
post he held from 1965–1967;
•HRES 509 IH 
Whereas in 1967, President Johnson appointed Thurgood 
Marshall as the first African American Justice to serve 
on the Supreme Court; 
Whereas during the 24 years he served on the Supreme 
Court, Thurgood Marshall promoted affirmative action 
and sought protection for the rights of all Americans, 
continuing to support integration but also championing 
the rights of women, children, prisoners, and the home-
less; and 
Whereas Thurgood Marshall died on January 24, 1993 at the 
age of 84: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives—
(1) honors the dedication and achievements of 
the late Thurgood Marshall; 
(2) calls upon Americans to recognize the con-
tributions of Thurgood Marshall to the struggle for 
equal rights and justice in the United States; and 
(3) encourages Congress to award Thurgood 
Marshall the Congressional Gold Medal.
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