Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) was a U.S. Supreme Court Justice. He was appointed by President Lyndon Johnson (D) in 1967 and served until retirement in 1991. He was the first African American to serve on the court.


History teaches that grave threats to liberty often come in times of urgency, when constitutional rights seem too extravagant to endure.

Take a chance, won't you? Knock down the fences, which divide. Tear apart the walls that imprison you. Reach out. Freedom lies just on the other side.

The Constitution does not prohibit legislatures from enacting stupid laws.

The legal system can force open doors, and sometimes-even knock down walls, but it cannot build bridges. That job belongs to you and me.

The measure of a country's greatness is its ability to retain compassion in time of crisis.

There's no difference between a white snake and a black snake. They'll both bite.

The…government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content

This is a country which stands tallest in troubled times, a country that clings to fundamental principles, [and] cherishes its constitutional heritage…

This is a country which… rejects simple solutions that compromise the values that lie at the roots of our democratic system.

We will only attain freedom if we learn to appreciate what is different, and muster the courage to discover what is fundamentally the same.

When we allow fundamental freedoms to be sacrificed in the name of real or perceived exigency, we invariably come to regret it.

Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.