I became an attorney because of Justice Thurgood Marshall, the first Black justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. It was February of 1990, and I was a fifth-grade student. I cannot remember why, but I was absent the day we got to pick who we would do a report on for Black History Month. I was disappointed because all the “good” people, like Martin Luther King, Jr., Frederick Douglass, and Harriet Tubman, had already been selected. I had to choose from the “leftovers.” I reluctantly picked Thurgood Marshall. I had never heard of Justice Marshall before that day.

Since this was in the olden days before the internet, I had to go to the public library to find materials on Justice Marshall. I also read the one-paragraph entry in my encyclopedia set. I learned that Justice Marshall served as an associate justice on the Supreme Court from 1967 to 1991.[i] In preparing my report on Justice Marshall, I first learned about how the law can be used to affect civil rights.

I am half Black and half White, so understanding segregation and racism was difficult for me as a child. I was loved by both the White side of my family and the Black side of my family. My young mind could not understand why some White people thought they were superior to Black people. However, learning about how Thurgood Marshall fought against segregation, racism, and oppression through the legal system sparked my lifelong interest in the law. I realized that, through his work, especially his persuasive arguments before the Supreme Court in Brown vs. Board of Education[ii], I was able to attend schools with my White classmates. I was also impressed that Justice Marshall not only helped to dismantle Jim Crow laws as an attorney, he also became a Supreme Court Justice who helped shape our laws for years to come.

My interest in becoming a lawyer never wavered after my report on Justice Marshall. I wanted to become a lawyer to help advance equality and civil rights in our country. Ironically, in a somewhat full-circle moment, during my second year of law school, I was on a mock trial team that won the National Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition.

My fifth-grade Black History Month report on Justice Thurgood Marshall shaped the course of my life. I am thankful I was absent on the day everyone picked the subjects for their reports. If I had been present that day, I might never have become an attorney. I hope that, through my volunteer work in the community, I can inspire another young child to become a lawyer and change the world.

Keep Reading

When the Bugs Hitchhike: Using Entomology to Defeat Bed Bug Habitability Claims Legal Jiu-Jitsu: The Gentle Art of Practicing Law Florida’s HB 167 & Phosphate Mining Litigation Early Case-Handling Strategies for Adjusters to Prevent Nuclear Verdicts® Beyond Competence: The 4 Cs of Exceptional Client Service Private Thoughts, Public Evidence: AI Chat Conversations and the Next Wave of Discovery From Classroom to Courtroom: My Personal Journey to Becoming an Attorney Setting Goals & Holding Ourselves Accountable New York State’s AVOID Act Will Drastically Change Third-Party Litigation This Spring

More by this author

How I Became A Lawyer: A Story of An Absence to Inspiration The Fate of State Tort Claims in the Trucking Industry: SCOTUS To Decide In Montgomery v. Caribe Transport II, LLC A Lawyer’s Guide To Managing Deadlines Nevada Doubles Down with Updated Arbitration Rules Trial Prep: Expectation vs. Reality

Sources

[i] Thurgood Marshall, Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Thurgood-Marshall (last visited Mar. 6, 2026).

[ii] Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 (1954).