by Kekla Magoon
First published 2021
Thurgood Marshall grows up in Baltimore where he witnesses the unfair treatment of Black Americans firsthand. Separate schools, parks, and water fountains show him how Jim Crow laws divide his world. After getting in trouble at school, Thurgood must read the Constitution as punishment. The words open his eyes to how wrong segregation really is. He decides to fight these unjust laws no matter what it takes. His quest for equality drives him to law school and then to the NAACP. There he argues landmark cases including Brown v. Board of Education before the Supreme Court. Each step forward requires him to create his own path where none existed before. His journey culminates when he becomes the first Black Justice on the Supreme Court. This picture book biography shows how one person's determination to ensure equal treatment for all Americans changed the course of history.
Genres: biography, historical-fiction, 20th-century, african-american, non-fiction, 21st-century, legal-thriller, american-history
Vibes: emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: determined-hero, overcoming-adversity, social-justice
Setting: Baltimore
Period: 20th-century
40 pages · Hardcover · Quill Tree Books
Content warnings: racism