Thurgood Marshall

Obama Presidential Center Honoree

Headshot of Thurgood Marshall

Space Name: Thurgood Marshall Courtyard | Campus Grounds

Thurgood Marshall was a civil rights lawyer and the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice. His fight for equality reshaped our country and its laws, particularly dismantling segregation in public schools. He served as lead attorney in the landmark civil rights case Brown v. Board of Education and as founder of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. His courage, persistence, and faith in the Constitution show that ordinary people can challenge injustice and create lasting change.

With gratitude to Peter and Maria Kellner

“ Thurgood Marshall was one of the greatest African American leaders in history. Not only was he at the forefront of so many civil rights battles (culminating in the Supreme Court’s historic 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision) but, as the Supreme Court’s first African American Justice, he fought ongoing battles on First Amendment rights, privacy, capital punishment and abortion. Justice Marshall was a truly great American.”

–Peter Kellner

Legacy on Campus

  • Campus Courtyards

    The Obama Presidential Center campus features six courtyards named after several luminaries who have inspired President and Mrs. Obama. 

  • Toward A More Perfect Union

    Delve into iconic historical moments that helped shape the lives and values of President and Mrs. Obama, including civil rights leaders such as Thurgood Marshall. 

    Learn More

Make a gift in honor of your heroes

Your honorary gift will help us inspire, empower, and connect leaders from around the world to take on the biggest challenges of our time.

The Barack Obama Foundation is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 46-4950751).

John Lewis

Meet More Honorees

Through the honoree naming initiative at the Obama Presidential Center, we are partnering with our donors to celebrate a part of the history in which the Obama story is so deeply rooted by associating a named space with a hero, moment, or person "on whose shoulders we stand"—an honoree who made the Obamas’ story possible.

Meet More Honorees