--- title: Thurgood Marshall Before the Supreme Court: Photos description: In the years before he became the first African-American Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall's career was chronicled by LIFE Magazine. canonical: https://time.com/4913195/thurgood-marshall-supreme-court-photos/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-08-30T15:00:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:19.259Z og:title: See Thurgood Marshall's Career Before His Supreme Court Days og:description: He became the first African-American Supreme Court justice on Aug. 30, 1967 og:url: https://time.com/4913195/thurgood-marshall-supreme-court-photos/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta795e6d6f8a02753/6988dad9656a3f3d21bd1672/thurgood-marshall-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1636 og:image:height: 920 og:image:alt: Thurgood Marshall og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See Thurgood Marshall's Career Before His Supreme Court Days twitter:description: He became the first African-American Supreme Court justice on Aug. 30, 1967 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta795e6d6f8a02753/6988dad9656a3f3d21bd1672/thurgood-marshall-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Thurgood Marshall's Career Before His Supreme Court Days > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) Aug 30, 2017 3:00 PM UTC  Thurgood Marshall, legal director of the NAACP, during the Trenton Six murder trial, 1949. Thurgood Marshall, legal director of the NAACP, during the Trenton Six murder trial, 1949. Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/) and [Liz Ronk](https://time.com/author/liz-ronk/) Aug 30, 2017 3:00 PM UTC When Thurgood Marshall was [confirmed](https://www.archives.gov/historical-docs/todays-doc/?dod-date=830) to the Supreme Court 50 years ago — on Aug. 30, 1967 — the United States’ highest court gained its first African-American justice. The confirmation was a crowning achievement in Marshall’s already long and illustrious legal career, which was well documented by LIFE Magazine in the years leading up to that day. As shown by these LIFE photos of his career in the years between 1949 and 1967, he was — as the magazine once dubbed him — the “chief counsel for equality.” Working on behalf of the NAACP, he had tackled [segregation](https://books.google.com/books?id=-1YEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40&dq=%22thurgood+marshall%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiH1Oe2p%5FDVAhUG5yYKHckWCX04ChDoAQgnMAA#v=onepage&q=%22thurgood%20marshall%22&f=false) in courts across the South and Washington, D.C., and even his most dedicated opponents could not help but admit to his skill. Though his friends had thought him foolish for taking on civil-rights cases early in his career — especially because he often did that work unpaid — he had turned his passion for those cases into history-defining success. “\[The\] leading civil rights lawyer of his time is a surprising man, full of contradictions,” LIFE [noted](https://books.google.com/books?id=bVYEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA141&dq=%22thurgood+marshall%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiH1Oe2p%5FDVAhUG5yYKHckWCX04ChDoAQgvMAI#v=onepage&q=%22thurgood%20marshall%22&f=false) in a 1955 profile. “No solemn crusader, he is high-spirited, loud-talking and wisecracking. Profoundly devoted to a cause, he usually looks and sounds like a man who is mainly concerned with satisfying his zest for life.” Despite all his success thus far, his colleagues noted at the time that he always got nervous before he had to argue something before the Supreme Court, though he pepped up as soon as he got going. And yet that profile, written [at the height of](https://books.google.com/books?id=GlMEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA14&dq=%22thurgood+marshall%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiH1Oe2p%5FDVAhUG5yYKHckWCX04ChDoAQg3MAQ#v=onepage&q=%22thurgood%20marshall%22&f=false) the fight over segregation, ended on a prophetic note: “As Thurgood Marshall left the Supreme Court building last week,” LIFE noted, he squared his shoulders and said, ‘We’re gonna be back.'”  Thurgood Marshall, legal director of the NAACP, during the Trenton Six murder trial, 1949. Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Thurgood Marshall, legal director of the NAACP, during the Trenton Six murder trial, 1949. Cornell Capa—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  NAACP chief counsel Thurgood Marshall standing on the steps of the Supreme Court Building, 1955. Hank Walker—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Distraught Autherine Lucy, meeting with the press, as Attorney Thurgood Marshall (L) waves them away, 1956. Lisa Larsen—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall speaking during the Little Rock integration crisis, 1956. Don Cravens—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  NAACP lawyer Thurgood Marshall leaving the US Supreme Court building after the latest round of the Little Rock School Integration case, 1958. Ed Clark—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Thurgood Marshall and others leaving the U.S.Supreme Court after hearing on School Intergration, 1958. Donald Uhrbrock—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty  Thurgood Marshall speaking in front of the U.S. Supreme Court after Court's upholding Little Rock desegregation order, 1958. Hank Walker—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  NAACP Counsel Thurgood Marshall and his staff, 1960. Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  U.S. Justice Thurgood Marshall with his wife, Cecilia Suyat, 1967. Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  U.S. Justice Thurgood Marshall with his wife and children, 1967. Stan Wayman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in his chambers, 1967. 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