"With its post-Civil War amendments designed to eradicate the stigma of slavery and create equality between the races, the U.S. Constitution promised much to Black citizens but delivered little justice. Thurgood Marshall spent his life determined to make the Constitution live up to its promise. As an attorney for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in the 1940s and 1950s, 'Mr. Civil Rights' persisted in the face of threats and harassment to wrest from the Supreme Court a series of stunning blows to racial segregation. Marshall's efforts culminated in the 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, which outlawed 'separate but equal' public schools -- a significant step in the continuing struggle of Black Americans for equal treatment in their own country. Marshall's record of cases won in the Supreme Court remains unbroken. After serving as the first Black U.S. solicitor general, Marshall became the country's first Black Supreme Court justice in 1967. Asked at his confirmation hearing whether judges should stick to 'what was written in the Constitution,' Marshall replied, 'Yes, Senator, with the understanding that the Constitution is meant to be a living document.' His astonishing career and legacy demonstrate that the Constitution is indeed a work in progress. This document -- so defective at its birth that it facilitated the trade in enslaved human beings and enforced their continued captivity and abuse -- has, like the Union, become 'more perfect' through struggle, suffering, sacrifice, amendment, argument, and interpretation. Marshall gave to this effort decades of tireless work, determined not to be beaten or to lose his vision of what America could be. This accessible collection of Justice Marshall's own words spans his entire career, from his fearless advocacy with the NAACP to his arguments as solicitor general and his Supreme Court opinions and dissents. Introductions to the writings provide historical and legal context"--Back cover.