“Where you see wrong or inequality or injustice, speak out, because this is your country. This is your democracy. Make it.” – Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall’s legal victories extended beyond education, as he played a significant role in dismantling legal segregation. His tireless efforts as a civil rights lawyer and Supreme Court Justice helped lay the foundation for progress and equality, permanently enhancing the legal landscape of the United States.
A Lincoln and Howard graduate, Marshall’s spirit is felt every day, not only through the consistent work of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund but through the fearless activists who played pivotal roles in advancing social justice, equity, and inclusion. They, along with Marshall, courageously deconstructed America’s legal system of Jim Crow white supremacy through their bold actions.
With February being Black History Month, it is always special to celebrate contributors and legacies while helping others understand they consistently walk in the footsteps of greatness.
TMCF is the most prominent champion of the Black college community, and the legacy of HBCUs is steeped in academic excellence and societal impact. For generations, HBCUs have made significant contributions to the nation and higher education despite historic underinvestment and a legacy of being discriminated against.
HBCUs are leaders in education and in producing positive outcomes for Black students and other marginalized communities. Many men and women put their bodies, families, homes, and livelihoods at risk to advance society by challenging systemic racism across various aspects of American society.
Following Marshall’s historic victory in the Brown v. Board of Education, Rosa Parks, who attended Alabama A&M, refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white man, triggering the Montgomery Bus Boycott, thrusting Morehouse graduate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. into a leadership role.
In 1960, North Carolina A&T students — Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, David Richmond, and Jibreel Khazan — sat to take a stand against segregation at Woolworths, showcasing a strength of unity that ignited a movement.
Howard law student Bruce Boynton refused to leave a Whites-only Trailways bus station café in Richmond, Virginia, resulting in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1960 Boynton v. Virginia decision desegregating interstate transportation facilities.
These efforts ultimately led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Fast forward 63 years later, the same spirit of injustice fueled a group of Lincoln University of Pennsylvania students to walk 66 miles to the state capitol of Harrisburg to respond to the Pennsylvania General Assembly for failing to pass a bill that guaranteed funding for several universities, including Lincoln.
These moments, which made Marshall proud, are glimpses of HBCU students advancing Civil Rights despite enduring water hoses, violent dogs, and ruthless beatings.
Black communities, which have always been subject to systemic inequities that limit opportunity, are now facing disproportionate impacts from the ongoing effects of the pandemic and rapid changes to the U.S. economy that make it harder to find well-paying jobs with a career path. Despite this, HBCUs and their graduates consistently demonstrate resilience, ambition, and determination.
HBCUs, sacred institutions that have been a beacon of light in the world since Cheyney University’s founding in 1837, are beacons of lights in a world of possibilities where dreams can come true. TMCF carries the legacy of Marshall’s attributes and the pioneering spirit while fighting for equity and inclusion daily.
By ROB KNOX
