Thurgood Marshall

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about the Plessy v. Ferguson case :

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the Brown case in its 1952 session. During the 1952 hearing, Marshall asserted that the whole weight of social science demonstrated that black and white children possessed equal learning potential. He pointed out that school segregation had no reasonable basis and that it had a devastating effect on black children, decreasing their motivation to learn, lowering their self-esteem , and blighting their futures. The court’s nine justices found Marshall’s arguments impressive, but legal precedents were heavily stacked against the NAACP’s position. Deciding that the issue bore further consideration, the justices scheduled a rehearing, which began on December 7, 1953. Now, on December 8, Thurgood Marshall would offer his final arguments in the case. When Marshall entered the courtroom, spectators, both black and white, filled every seat. Eager to witness history, many had waited outside in the bitter cold since before daybreak. The crowd’s excitedmurmurs ceased when themarshal of the court stepped forward and, in ringing tones, pronounced the ancient ritual words: “The honorable the Chief Justice, the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the

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