Mr. Civil Rights: Thurgood Marshall and the NAACP

This film was great in showing the inequalities that are 10x worse during that time than they are today. It also shows the moxie that Thurgood Marshall had to bring in justice for many African Americans.I didn’t know much about him until recently and I’m so happy I can add him to the list of heroes of our country.

Beautifully done – such an important figure in US history. Every school should show this, every home own it!

Very Informative, because I am from Baltimore I enjoyed seeing Baltimore City before I was born. Always admired Justice Marshall.

he changed america

Thurgood Marshall is my new hero!

Thurgood Marshall argued, and won more US Supreme Court cases than anyone in history.He traveled 30,000 miles a year, on the back roads of the Deep South fighting for desegregation and against Jim Crow law.He had become famous for defending cases with black defendants, as an NAACP lawyer, and as head of legal defense for the agency.Every city and town he entered he would promote membership as a means to unite in the civil rights cause.Because of his fame, every day of his life, he was in danger, and came as close to being lynched without it occuring, before he was saved by fellow “Freedom Riders.”He served on the Supreme Court until retirement after 23 years.He has had more impact on how we live in the US than any other person, including Presidents.Remarkable story told in this fascinating documentary. It should be required viewing yearly from grade 6-12.

An extraordinary man, Marshall’s critical successes are skillfully laid out in about an hour. It is deftly narrated and interspersed with film clips illustrating the deliberate and grinding work that went into accomplishing a vision of equal civil rights. Heroes of this stature are harder to find these days, although in 30 years young Greta might be shoulder to shoulder with Marshall.Be inspired to be better yourself. I know I’m no Marshall, but everyday is an opportunity to just be better.

A great American, Marshall’s historic conviction and accomplishments on behalf of the civil rights movement are inspiration for all of us in these dark times; he was unstoppable.

Most people don’t pay much attention to the legal side of history. This bio shows how a lawyer driving through the South for cases was indispensable in helping change state laws. In case you don’t know, he later becomes a Supreme Court justice. Highly recommended.

Respect! Great Documentary and I did learn a lot about the Honorable Thurgood Marshall

This is a must watch movie. The foundation for the Brown vs the Board of Education case, was laid in place by the many smaller judgments won by the NAACP led by Thurgood Marshall legal team.

…as Samuel L. Jackson, the actor, called him. Fittingly Jackson provided the moving narration to the documentary “I am not your Negro,” on the life of James Baldwin. Anyhow, it was “Uncle Clarence,” and not Amazon’s algorithm that led me to this documentary on the first Black on the Supreme Court, appointed in October 1967, after his nomination by President Lyndon Baines Johnson. This documentary was produced by South Hill Films and released in 2014.Admittedly I am not a Supreme Court “groupie.” My main source of information on its dynamics has been Bob Woodward’s “The Brethren,” written more than four decades ago about a vastly different court. I knew virtually nothing about Thurgood Marshall, other than his premier status in breaking racial barriers.One of the nine current justices on the Supreme Court, Elena Kagan, is in this documentary. Turns out she clerked for Thurgood Marshall. She called him “a hero” and “the greatest lawyer of the 20th century.”Marshall was born in Baltimore in 1908. The documentary sets the tone of the times with D.W. Griffith’s silent movie, “Birth of a Nation.” In large part, it depicts the KKK positively, protecting the “virtue” of white women. And the documentary states that President Woodrow Wilson largely bought this line. Marshall was denied admission to the Univ. of Maryland’s law school in 1929 since he was black. So he went to Howard, which had a poor reputation, in DC. Charles Houston, educated at Harvard, was Howard’s head. He sought to renovate the teaching and the curriculum and make lawyers into social engineers. Houston and Marshall would take a trip together into the Deep South that would be transformative for the latter. In terms of legal strategies, I love the fact that they used the 1896 decision, “Plessy v. Furguson,” to their advantage. In another case involving a Black trying to be admitted to the U. of Maryland law school, in 1935, they asked the Court: “Separate but Equal”? Well, where is the Black law school? The Black applicant was admitted to the formerly all-white law school.Houston and Marshall went to work for the NAACP in NYC. After Houston’s departure, Marshall took over and continued the battle against Jim Crow that culminated in the 1954 “Brown v. the Board of Education, Topeka, KS.” He affected a shambling “good ol’ boy” routine in the courtroom. In real life he was a bon vivant and raconteur. He took on criminal cases in the Deep South and for his efforts he was almost lynched in Tennessee.The documentary ends with appointment to the Supreme Court so none of the cases that he participated in and helped decide are discussed.“Night and Day” is far too weak a metaphor for the differences between Marshall and the man who assumed “his” seat, Uncle Clarence. Another sharp rebuke to the merits of identity politics. An excellent informative documentary: 5-stars.

A MUST WATCH DOCUMENTARY..

Excellent source of information about Mr. Marshall’s struggles as a young lawyer, his undeniable courage and fortitude, his mentor— Charles Hamilton Houston, and his personal relationships. This is an excellent resource for further study of his career.

Riveting and informative. Great book about pre-Brown Thurgood Marshall

Marshall was a force and we all (black and white) owe so much to his intelligence, bravery, courage, and persistence. He is truly inspiring.