THURGOOD MARSHALL STAMP UNVEILED TODAY AT CONSTANT CENTER
The U.S. Postal Service will unveil a new commemorative stamp of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall between 12:30-1:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, in the Blue Room at the Ted Constant Convocation Center.
The stamp was designed by Richard Sheaff of Scottsdale, Ariz., and is the eighth in the Black Heritage series to feature a photograph. The black and white photograph was taken by Abdon Daoud Ackad Sr. in late 1967, shortly after Marshall became a justice of the U. S. Supreme Court.
Marshall joins 25 other honorees in the postal service's Black Heritage Series, which salutes outstanding African-American activists, theorists, educators, and leaders. The local unveiling is being held in connection with Black History Month.
Born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1908, Marshall graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and later graduated first in his class from Howard University Law School in Washington, D.C. Marshall went on to become one of the best-known civil rights lawyers in the U.S. He was the first director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, a job he held for 21 years.
President John F. Kennedy appointed Marshall to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1961. He was appointed the first African-American solicitor general of the United States in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. In 1967, Marshall marked another historical milestone when he was sworn in as the first African-American justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. During his 24 years on the court, Marshall demonstrated a commitment to defending constitutional rights and affirmative action.
Marshall died on January 24, 1993, at the age of 85.
More information on the Marshall stamp is available at http://www.usps.com/news/2002/philatelic/sr02_049.htm.