Our mission to preserve, protect, and promote Thurgood Marshall’s legacy through preservation, storytelling, education, and programs that support the next generation of civil rights leaders.
About the Foundation
The Thurgood Marshall Foundation was founded by his granddaughter, Cecilia Marshall, to preserve his legacy, share his story, and ensure that the struggle for justice continues with the next generation.
In 1993, Cecilia stood inside the Great Hall of the Supreme Court as her grandfather lay in state, watching over his coffin while thousands came to pay their respects. Even as a child, she understood that his legacy did not belong only to their family but to the nation.
Justice Marshall believed that America’s diversity was not its weakness but its strength—that our fates are bound together, and that liberty requires the courage to tear down fences and build bridges. His words remain urgent today: “We must dissent because America can do better, because America has no choice but to do better.”
Our Vision
A true democracy governed by justice where every individual, regardless of race or socioeconomic background, is born with equal rights. We aim for a society where a child born to the humblest beginnings in the deepest corners of inequality shares the same rights as one born into privilege.
A family committed to his story
The Thurgood Marshall Foundation was founded by his granddaughter, Cecilia Marshall, to preserve his legacy, share his story, and ensure that the struggle for justice continues with the next generation. Even as a child, she understood that his legacy did not belong only to their family but to the nation.
Johnson Publishing Company Archive. Courtesy J. Paul Getty Trust and Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Made possible by the Ford Foundation, J. Paul Getty Trust, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and Smithsonian Institution.
Support the Legacy of Justice Marshall
Your contribution helps preserve his history, expand educational access, and empower future champions of justice. Together, we can continue the work he began.