Through <\/strong>interviews with acclaimed authors, legal scholars, and family members, the film traces Marshall\u2019s journey from his childhood and work with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to his appointment to the Supreme Court \u2014 marking his inspirational accomplishments along the way. \u201cLegally speaking, he\u2019s one of the founding fathers,\u201d noted author Wil Haygood. Check out a trailer for the film, below:<\/p>\n Born in 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland, Marshall came from humble beginnings during the segregation era, and as a child, his father brought him to court to watch legal proceedings. According to his son, John, Marshall was \u201cvery impressed with watching lawyers argue cases\u201d \u2014 and he would later become one of the most eloquent advocates ever to appear before the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n Marshall pursued a path of academic excellence, attending two prominent Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Lincoln University and Howard University School of Law. From there, he embarked upon a career that would make racial equality a reality and change the future for all Americans.<\/p>\n Known as \u201cMr. Civil Rights,\u201d Marshall time and again took up challenging causes, winning 29 of the 32 cases he argued before the Supreme Court, including the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education<\/em>, which ended racial segregation in public schools. His fight for equality didn\u2019t end there, however, as many years of litigation followed thanks to \u201cmassive resistance\u201d to the high court\u2019s decision. Marshall never gave up, and secured victory after victory in the name of equality and justice for all.<\/p>\n \u201cThe work and life of Thurgood Marshall literally changed this country in ways that are incredibly positive and powerful and that still resonate today,\u201d said Sherrilyn Ifill of Howard Law.<\/p>\n Marshall\u2019s historic rise to legal prominence was rewarded with positions of note within the judiciary and the federal government. In 1961, he was appointed to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Four years later, he was appointed as the nation\u2019s first Black Solicitor General. Then, in 1967, he was nominated to become the first Black Supreme Court justice in the United States. He served for 24 years, where he continued to champion equal justice under the law, before retiring in 1991.<\/p>\n Executive producer Stanley Nelson said this<\/a> of the film\u2019s iconic subject and its importance given today\u2019s fight for civil rights: \u201cHis story has always been relevant and timely. But I think that now, when we have a real attack on history, especially African American history, it becomes more relevant than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecoming Thurgood: America\u2019s Social Architect\u201d premieres Tuesday, September 9, 2025, at 10 p.m. ET on PBS,\u00a0PBS.org<\/a>, and the\u00a0PBS app<\/a>. The film reminds us that before he was ever portrayed as a character, Marshall was \u2014 and remains \u2014 a true superhero of American justice.<\/p>\n Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email<\/a> her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The post \u2018Becoming Thurgood\u2019: The Supreme Court Justice Who Redefined Civil Rights<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before the actor who played Black Panther brought him to life on the silver screen, Thurgood Marshall had already secured his place as a real-life superhero of civil rights.<\/p>\n That\u2019s exactly what the documentary \u201cBecoming Thurgood: America\u2019s Social Architect<\/a>\u201d focuses on, inviting viewers to \u201creflect on his work shaping the American legal system.\u201d As a pioneering force in the legal battle for civil rights, Marshall cemented his legacy as the first African American man to be appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States.<\/p>\n Through <\/strong>interviews with acclaimed authors, legal scholars, and family members, the film traces Marshall\u2019s journey from his childhood and work with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to his appointment to the Supreme Court \u2014 marking his inspirational accomplishments along the way. \u201cLegally speaking, he\u2019s one of the founding fathers,\u201d noted author Wil Haygood. Check out a trailer for the film, below:<\/p>\n Born in 1908 in Baltimore, Maryland, Marshall came from humble beginnings during the segregation era, and as a child, his father brought him to court to watch legal proceedings. According to his son, John, Marshall was \u201cvery impressed with watching lawyers argue cases\u201d \u2014 and he would later become one of the most eloquent advocates ever to appear before the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n Marshall pursued a path of academic excellence, attending two prominent Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Lincoln University and Howard University School of Law. From there, he embarked upon a career that would make racial equality a reality and change the future for all Americans.<\/p>\n Known as \u201cMr. Civil Rights,\u201d Marshall time and again took up challenging causes, winning 29 of the 32 cases he argued before the Supreme Court, including the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education<\/em>, which ended racial segregation in public schools. His fight for equality didn\u2019t end there, however, as many years of litigation followed thanks to \u201cmassive resistance\u201d to the high court\u2019s decision. Marshall never gave up, and secured victory after victory in the name of equality and justice for all.<\/p>\n \u201cThe work and life of Thurgood Marshall literally changed this country in ways that are incredibly positive and powerful and that still resonate today,\u201d said Sherrilyn Ifill of Howard Law.<\/p>\n Marshall\u2019s historic rise to legal prominence was rewarded with positions of note within the judiciary and the federal government. In 1961, he was appointed to U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Four years later, he was appointed as the nation\u2019s first Black Solicitor General. Then, in 1967, he was nominated to become the first Black Supreme Court justice in the United States. He served for 24 years, where he continued to champion equal justice under the law, before retiring in 1991.<\/p>\n Executive producer Stanley Nelson said this<\/a> of the film\u2019s iconic subject and its importance given today\u2019s fight for civil rights: \u201cHis story has always been relevant and timely. But I think that now, when we have a real attack on history, especially African American history, it becomes more relevant than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBecoming Thurgood: America\u2019s Social Architect\u201d premieres Tuesday, September 9, 2025, at 10 p.m. ET on PBS,\u00a0PBS.org<\/a>, and the\u00a0PBS app<\/a>. The film reminds us that before he was ever portrayed as a character, Marshall was \u2014 and remains \u2014 a true superhero of American justice.<\/p>\n Staci Zaretsky<\/a>\u00a0is the managing editor of Above the Law, where she\u2019s worked since 2011. She\u2019d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email<\/a> her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on\u00a0Bluesky<\/a>,\u00a0X\/Twitter<\/a>, and\u00a0Threads<\/a>,\u00a0or connect with her on\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n The post \u2018Becoming Thurgood\u2019: The Supreme Court Justice Who Redefined Civil Rights<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Before the actor who played Black Panther brought him to life on the silver screen, Thurgood Marshall had already secured his place as a real-life superhero of civil rights. That\u2019s exactly what the documentary \u201cBecoming Thurgood: America\u2019s Social Architect\u201d focuses on, inviting viewers to \u201creflect on his work shaping the American legal system.\u201d As a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":132883,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Staci-Zaretsky-ZMj7IL.jpg?fit=150%2C100&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/132883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n![\"Staci](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/abovethelaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/Staci-Zaretsky.jpg?resize=150%2C100&ssl=1\" "\\"\\"")
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