Thurgood Marshall's Former Law Clerks Speak About His Lasting Legacy, Express Admiration

By Dan Joseph | Feb 14, 2017 11:32 AM EST

Thurgood Marshall is known for his many contributions for the civil rights movement in the United States. In 1967 he was the first African-American to be appointed to the Supreme Court.

Thurgood Marshall worked for the Supreme Court for the next 24 years where he made other significant contributions to other areas of law as well. During his time in the Supreme Court, several law clerks who worked under Marshall went on to become successful in the field of law.

Elena Kagan is the US Supreme Court Associate Justice who worked for Thurgood Marshall during his tenure at the Supreme Court. Kagan shares his admiration for Marshall in an interview with Northwestern Now. The associate describes Marshall as clearly the greatest lawyer of the 20th century and telling that it wasn't even a close contest.

In an announcement in September, Elizabeth Garrett will now become the first female leader of the Cornell University. She too worked for Marshall as a clerk in the Supreme Court. In an interview with timeshighereducation.com, Garrett shares that Thurgood Marshall is one person she has always admired. She says that Thurgood Marshall is someone who has dedicated his life to ensure the equality of opportunity for all Americans regardless of gender, race or background.

Stephen L. Carter is an American law professor at Yale University who also worked as a law clerk for Thurgood Marshall. The professor wrote an article on Bloomberg.com that commemorates the former Justice's 25 anniversary of his retirement. In Carter's article he narrates his experience with Marshall and why he is a man everyone should look up to.

According to Carter's article, Thurgood Marshall taught through example the importance of loving our neighbor regardless of differences which is very similar to the teachings of the Bible. He then ends the article saying that a person of Marshall's caliber come far too seldom.

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