Thurgood Marshall: Before the Court
Series: American RadioWorks: Black History
From: American Public Media
Length: 01:00:00
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Thurgood Marshall is best known as the first African American appointed to United States Supreme Court and as the lead attorney in the landmark school desegregation case, Brown v. Board of Education. Just as remarkable, Marshall was an instrumental figure in striking down the legal framework of segregation and establishing the foundation for modern civil rights law. In the 1940s and '50s, Marshall was one of the most recognized black leaders in the country. He was often called "Mr. Civil Rights." This comprehensive documentary project highlights contributions made by Marshall and key legal partners, and by the courageous African Americans across the South who risked their jobs and safety to press their grievances in local courts.
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Piece Description
Thurgood Marshall is best known as the first African American appointed to United States Supreme Court and as the lead attorney in the landmark school desegregation case, Brown v. Board of Education. Just as remarkable, Marshall was an instrumental figure in striking down the legal framework of segregation and establishing the foundation for modern civil rights law. In the 1940s and '50s, Marshall was one of the most recognized black leaders in the country. He was often called "Mr. Civil Rights." This comprehensive documentary project highlights contributions made by Marshall and key legal partners, and by the courageous African Americans across the South who risked their jobs and safety to press their grievances in local courts.
Broadcast History
First released: May, 2004
Updated: February, 2005
Re-released: February 2007
Transcript
Thurgood Marshall Before the Court
American RadioWorks
Music
Ray Suarez: From American Public Media, this is an American RadioWorks documentary, Thurgood Marshall Before the Court. I'm Ray Suarez.
Marshall: Education is not the teaching of three R's. Education is teaching to live together with fellow citizens.
Before the sit-ins and freedom marches, lawyer Thurgood Marshall led a 30-year campaign to desegregate America's schools.
Jones: It was incendiary, the idea of little black boys in school with little white girls.
Man: Do you think the Negro students will get in here?
Man: I don't know how long they'll live after they do get in.
Marshall's big victory came 50 years ago in the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education ruling.
Bond: What they did was make segregation illegal.
Thurgood Marshall is best known as first African American on the U.S. Supreme...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
00:00-00:59 (0:59)
Billboard outcue = "first, this news update."
01:00-06:00 (5:00)
NPR News hole, silence rolling on tape
06:00-06:30 (0:29 + :01 silence)
Music bed
06:30-21:00 (14:29 + :01 silence)
Segment A outcue = "from American Public Media."
21:00-22:00 (0:59 + :01 silence)
Music Bed
22:00-41:30 (19:29 + :01 silence)
Segment B outcue = "from American Public Media."
41:30-42:30 (0:59 + :01 silence)
Music Bed
42:30-59:00 (16:29 + :01 silence)
Segment C outcue = American Public Media audio logo
59:00-59:59 (:59)
Silence rolling on tape
Additional Credits
Consulting scholars: Adam Fairclough, Professor of American History, University of East Anglia; Linda Greene, Evjue - Bascom Professor of Law, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Wisconsin Law School; Randall Kennedy, Professor of Law, Harvard University Law School; Waldo Martin, Professor of History, University of California, Berkeley; Patricia Sullivan, Associate Professor of History, University of South Carolina; Mark Tushnet, Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Constitutional Law, Georgetown University Law Center.
Archival sources: National Archives and Records Administration, Library of Congress, Columbia University Oral History Research Office, MacDonald and Associates, University of Arkansas Fayetteville, University of Arkansas Little Rock, British Broadcasting Corporation, Library of American Broadcasting at the University of Maryland, NAACP, Maryland Historical Society
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David Swatling
Posted on February 07, 2007 at 12:19 AM | Permalink
Review of Thurgood Marshall: Before the Court (American RadioWorks)
A perfect program for Black History Month, this sound rich portrait details an important chapter of American history. Although the story is narrator driven, the extensive use of archival audio, readings from memoirs and court transcripts, music and lively experts combine to make this piece a great listen.
The three act structure is straightforward but in this case very effective. Marshall's early life, education and first important case in act one are followed by the shift in post-WWII America when black soldiers returned from battle and found segregation laws more intolerable than ever - leading to the Brown vs. Board of Education decision which Marshall argued before the Supreme Court. But most gripping is the third part which details the 1957 Little Rock high school violence which erupted when Federal troops were brought in to enforce desegregation. It's a chilling scene followed by Marshall at his most eloquent when he again appears before the Supreme Court.
Originally produced for the 50th anniversary of the Brown decision, it's particularly timely this year - 50 years after the Little Rock incident. But all in all this is a timeless documentary which brings history alive and should be broadcast by all public radio stations. I would hope that the occasional judicious/historical use of the N-word, mostly in bits of archive audio, will not deter any broadcasters from airing this important work.