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 The Life and Legacy of Thurgood Marshall
In 1925, an outgoing and strong-willed young man enrolled in Lincoln University, Pennsylvania. Tenacious, skillful, and persuasive, the young man quickly became the University's star debater. After graduating cum laude with distinction, he enrolled in Howard University Law School, where he graduated at the top of his class in 1933. Yet at the time, no one could have predicted that in 1967, Thurgood Marshall would become the first African-American Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.
Justice Marshall's commitment to education began as a young lawyer fighting the State of Maryland for equal pay for black school teachers who were receiving the same salary as janitors. Throughout his career Thurgood Marshall worked within the legal system to make his vision of equal access to education a reality through precedent-setting court cases. In Brown vs. Board of Education the United States Supreme Court struck down the "Separate but Equal" doctrine, thus ending legalized segregation of educational institutions.
Thurgood Marshall College Fund:
Preparing a New Generation of Leaders
After winning a difficult racial discrimination case against the University of Maryland, Thurgood Marshall declared, "We're in the education business!" It is this legacy and commitment to education that is the foundation of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund's (TMCF) mission to prepare a new generation of leaders.
In 1987, Thurgood Marshall College Fund (formally Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund) was founded under the leadership of Dr. N. Joyce Payne, Director of the Office for the Advancement of Public Black Colleges (a division of the National Association of State Universities and Land- Grant Colleges), in cooperation with Miller Brewing Company, Sony Music, NBA, Reebok, and the American Association for State Colleges and Universities.
Public Historically Black Colleges and Universities have been educating young men and women for over 168 years. TMCF is the only national organization to provide merit scholarships, programmatic and capacity building support to 47 public HBCUs. Since our inception, TMCF has provided more than $68 million in scholarships and programmatic support to students attending our 47 member public HBCUs and 6 Historically Black Law Schools.
TMCF member universities are a critical source of higher education for African Americans. More than eighty percent of all students enrolled in historically black colleges and universities attend TMCF member schools. Many public HBCU graduates have become leaders in the business, government and entertainment industries. However, few of these achievements would be possible without the support of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. Ninety percent of all students attending public HBCUs require some form of financial assistance. |
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