Standing proud outside the State House in Annapolis is the Thurgood Marshall Memorial, which was erected to commemorate the Baltimore-born Supreme Court Justice who is famous for fighting against school segregation. Learn about his key achievements and pay tribute to the man himself at this memorial erected in his honor.
Read about Marshall’s lifework before visiting the memorial or take a guided tour to find out more about his prominent role in the fight for equal rights. The monument was erected in 1994, a year after Marshall’s death and 40 years after the pivotal Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka ruling. Serving as lawyer on the case for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Thurgood successfully argued that segregated schools denied black children their constitutional right to equal protection under the law.
Get close to examine the sculpture, which was designed by Maryland native Toby Mendez. The sculpture features a larger-than-life representation of Thurgood Marshall as a young lawyer with a briefcase in hand. Look for an inscription atop the columns behind the statue. It reads “Equal Justice Under Law.”
Interestingly, the site of the memorial is where the Maryland Court of Appeals stood in the mid-1930s. In 1935, Marshall represented Donald Gaines Murray in a trial at that very court and won him and other black students the right to attend the University of Maryland School of Law. Turn your attention to the two benches opposite the statue of Marshall. On one sits a statue of Donald Gaines Murray, the first African-American to attend the University of Maryland School of Law. On the other are two children, representing the children Marshall fought for in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka case.
Find the Thurgood Marshall Memorial outside the Maryland State House in Annapolis’ historic core. Use local buses to reach the memorial or, if you are staying in central Annapolis, simply walk here.
