in chronological order | |  William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868-1963) — also known asW. E. B. Du Bois — of Manhattan,New YorkCounty, N.Y.; Accra,Ghana.Born in Great Barrington,BerkshireCounty, Mass.,February23, 1868.Collegeprofessor;sociologist;historian;civil rights leader; Pan-Africanist; one of the founders of theNAACP; received theSpingarn Medal in 1920; member of New YorkAmerican Labor Party Executive Committee, 1949; American Laborcandidate forU.S.Senator from New York, 1950; in 1951, he and four other leadersof the Peace Information Center, which wasallegedto be acting on behalf of the Soviet Union, wereindictedfor their failure to register asforeignagents; the case was dismissed in 1952, but hispassport waswithheld until 1958; awarded theLeninPeace Prize in 1959.Africanancestry. Member,NAACP.In 1895, he was thefirstAfrican-American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University.Died in Accra,Ghana,August27, 1963 (age95 years, 185days).Entombed atDu Bois Memorial Centre, Accra, Ghana. | | William Henry Hastie (1904-1976) — also known asWilliam H. Hastie — of Philadelphia,PhiladelphiaCounty, Pa.Born in Knoxville,KnoxCounty, Tenn.,November17, 1904.Lawyer;lawprofessor;U.S.District Judge for Virgin Islands, 1937-39;dean,Howard University law school, 1939-46;Governor ofU.S. Virgin Islands, 1946-49;Judgeof U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, 1949-71; tooksenior status 1971.Africanancestry. Member,PhiBeta Kappa;OmegaPsi Phi;Freemasons;AmericanCivil Liberties Union;Americansfor Democratic Action.ReceivedSpingarn Medal in 1943. Died, at Suburban GeneralHospital,East Norriton,MontgomeryCounty, Pa.,April14, 1976 (age71 years, 149days).Burial location unknown. | | Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993) — also known asThoroughgood Marshall — of Manhattan,New YorkCounty, N.Y.Born inBaltimore,Md.,July 2,1908.Judgeof U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit, 1961-65; resigned1965; U.S. Solicitor General, 1965-67;AssociateJustice of U.S. Supreme Court, 1967-91; took senior status 1991.Episcopalian.Africanancestry. Member,Freemasons;NAACP;NationalBar Association;AlphaPhi Alpha;American CivilLiberties Union.ReceivedSpingarn Medal in 1946FirstAfrican-American Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.Died, from aheartattack, in theNationalNaval Medical Center, Bethesda,MontgomeryCounty, Md.,January24, 1993 (age84 years, 206days).Interment atArlingtonNational Cemetery, Arlington, Va.; memorial monument atLawyers'Mall, Annapolis, Md.| |  Relatives:Married,September4, 1929, to Vivien Burey; married,December17, 1955, toCeciliaSuyat; father ofThurgoodMarshall Jr.. | | | | Political family:Marshallfamily of New York City, New York. | | | | Cross-reference:WilliamCurtis Bryson | | | | See alsofederaljudicial profile —Wikipediaarticle —NNDBdossier —Internet Movie Databaseprofile —Find-A-Gravememorial —BiographicalDirectory of Federal Judges —ArlingtonNational Cemetery unofficial website | | | | Books about Thurgood Marshall: JuanWilliams,ThurgoodMarshall : American Revolutionary — Randall W. Bland,JusticeThurgood Marshall, Crusader for Liberalism : His JudicialBiography — Mark V. Tushnet,MakingConstitutional Law: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court,1961-1991 — Mark V. Tushnet,MakingCivil Rights Law: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court,1936-1961 — Gilbert King,Devilin the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn ofa New America |
| | Paul Revere Williams (1894-1980) — also known asPaul R. Williams — of Los Angeles,LosAngeles County, Calif.Born in Los Angeles,Los AngelesCounty, Calif.,February18, 1894.Republican.Architect;firstAfrican-American architect west of the Mississippi, and first to bemember of the American Institute of Architects; designed manySouthern California landmarks, including the homes of Hollywoodcelebrities; received theSpingarn Medal in 1953; delegate toRepublican National Convention from California,1952,1960;member, California Housing Commission and California Civil RightsCommission.Africanancestry. Member,AmericanInstitute of Architects;Freemasons.Died, fromdiabetes,in CaliforniaHospital,Los Angeles,Los AngelesCounty, Calif.,January23, 1980 (age85 years, 339days).Interment atInglewoodPark Cemetery, Inglewood, Calif. | | Robert Clifton Weaver (1907-1997) — also known asRobert C. Weaver — ofWashington,D.C.; Manhattan,New YorkCounty, N.Y.Born inWashington,D.C.,December29, 1907.Democrat.Economist;received theSpingarn Medal in 1962;U.S.Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 1966-68;firstAfrican-American cabinet member;speaker, Democratic National Convention, 1968 ;president,Baruch College, 1969; trustee, Mount SinaiMedicalCenter.Methodist.Africanancestry. Member,NAACP;Americansfor Democratic Action.Died in Manhattan,New YorkCounty, N.Y.,July 17,1997 (age89 years, 200days).Burial location unknown. | | Edward William Brooke III (1919-2015) — also known asEdward W. Brooke — of Newton Center, Newton,MiddlesexCounty, Mass.Born inWashington,D.C.,October26, 1919.Republican. Served in the U.S. Army during World War II;lawyer;candidate forsecretaryof state of Massachusetts, 1960;Massachusettsstate attorney general, 1963-67;U.S.Senator from Massachusetts, 1967-79; defeated, 1978.Episcopalian.Africanancestry. Member,American BarAssociation;AmericanAcademy of Arts and Sciences;Amvets;AlphaPhi Alpha.FirstBlack U.S. Senator in the 20th century; recipient of theSpingarnMedal in 1967.Died in Coral Gables,Miami-DadeCounty, Fla.,January3, 2015 (age95 years, 69days).Interment atArlingtonNational Cemetery, Arlington, Va. | | Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990) — also known asSamuel George Davis — Born in Harlem, Manhattan,New YorkCounty, N.Y.,December8, 1925.Democrat. Served in the U.S. Army during World War II;singer;dancer;actor;injured in an automobile accident in 1954, andlost hisleft eye;honored guest, Democratic National Convention,1960.Jewish.AfricanandCubanancestry.Received theSpingarn Medal in 1968. Died, from complications ofthroatcancer, in Beverly Hills,Los AngelesCounty, Calif.,May 16,1990 (age64 years, 159days).Interment atForestLawn Memorial Park, Glendale, Calif.  | Andrew Jackson Young Jr. (b. 1932) — also known asAndy Young — of Atlanta,FultonCounty, Ga.Born in New Orleans,OrleansParish, La.,March12, 1932.Democrat.Ordainedminister; one of the founders of the Southern ChristianLeadership Conference, 1957; close advisor of Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr. until his assassination;U.S.Representative from Georgia 5th District, 1973-77; defeated,1970; U.S. Representative toUnited Nations, 1977-79;mayorof Atlanta, Ga., 1982-90;speaker, Democratic National Convention, 1988 ;candidate forGovernor ofGeorgia, 1990.UnitedChurch of Christ.Africanancestry. Member,Council onForeign Relations;PrinceHall Masons.Received theSpingarn Medal in 1978; received thePresidentialMedal of Freedom in 1981.Still living as of 2021. | | | Coleman Alexander Young (1918-1997) — also known asColeman A. Young — of Detroit,WayneCounty, Mich.Born in Tuscaloosa,TuscaloosaCounty, Ala.,May 24,1918.Served in the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II;nationalrepresentative, UAW-CIO, 1946-47;director oforganization, Wayne County CIO Council, 1947-48;executivesecretary, National Negro Labor Council, 1951-55; candidate forMichiganstate house of representatives, 1959, 1962 (Democratic primary);delegateto Michigan state constitutional convention from Wayne County 9thDistrict, 1961-62; member ofMichiganstate senate 4th District, 1965-73; defeated (Progressive), 1948;resigned 1973; delegate to Democratic National Convention fromMichigan,1968,1972,1976,1980,1984(speaker),1988(speaker),1996;member ofDemocraticNational Committee from Michigan, 1969-81;mayorof Detroit, Mich., 1974-94; Democratic candidate for PresidentialElector for Michigan,1988;Democratic Presidential Elector for Michigan,1992(elected on behalf ofBillClinton andAlGore; did not serve).Africanancestry. Member,Freemasons;NAACP.Received theSpingarn Medal in 1981. Died, ofemphysema,while hospitalized forheartproblems, at SinaiHospital,Detroit,WayneCounty, Mich.,November29, 1997 (age79 years, 189days).Interment atElmwoodCemetery, Detroit, Mich. | | Thomas Bradley (1917-1998) — also known asTom Bradley — of Los Angeles,LosAngeles County, Calif.Born in Calvert,RobertsonCounty, Tex.,December29, 1917.Democrat.Policeofficer;lawyer;delegate to Democratic National Convention from California,1968,1972;mayorof Los Angeles, Calif., 1973-93; defeated, 1969; candidate forGovernor ofCalifornia, 1982, 1986.Methodist.Africanancestry. Member,Freemasons;KappaAlpha Psi;UrbanLeague;NAACP.Received theSpingarn Medal in 1984. Died, of aheartattack, at Kaiser PermanenteMedicalCenter, Los Angeles,Los AngelesCounty, Calif.,September29, 1998 (age80 years, 274days).Entombed in mausoleum atInglewoodPark Cemetery, Inglewood, Calif. | | Benjamin Lawson Hooks (1925-2010) — also known asBenjamin L. Hooks — of Memphis,ShelbyCounty, Tenn.Born in Memphis,ShelbyCounty, Tenn.,January31, 1925.Democrat.Lawyer;pastor;state court judge in Tennessee, 1965; member, Federal CommunicationsCommission, 1972-77; delegate to Democratic National Convention fromTennessee,1996,2000;speaker,1988;Democratic Presidential Elector for Tennessee,1996.Baptist.Africanancestry. Member,Freemasons.Civil rights leader; friend and confidant of Dr. Martin Luther King,Jr.; recipient of theSpingarn Medal in 1986.DiedApril15, 2010 (age85 years, 74days).Burial location unknown. | | Percy Ellis Sutton (1920-2009) — also known asPercy Sutton — of Manhattan,New YorkCounty, N.Y.Born in San Antonio,BexarCounty, Tex.,November24, 1920.Democrat. Member ofNew Yorkstate assembly, 1965-66 (New York County 11th District 1965, 77thDistrict 1966); defeated in primary, 1954;boroughpresident of Manhattan, New York, 1966-77; delegate to DemocraticNational Convention from New York,1972,1984;candidate formayorof New York City, N.Y., 1977.Africanancestry.Recipient of theSpingarn Medal in 1987. DiedDecember26, 2009 (age89 years, 32days).Burial location unknown.  | Jesse Louis Jackson (b. 1941) — also known asJesse L. Jackson;"Thunder" —of Chicago,CookCounty, Ill.Born in Greenville,GreenvilleCounty, S.C.,October8, 1941.Democrat. Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois,1972;speaker,1984,1988;candidate for Democratic nomination for President,1984,1988;delegate to Democratic National Convention from District of Columbia,1996.Africanancestry. Member,Freemasons;Council onForeign Relations;OmegaPsi Phi.Civil rights leader; associate of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.;recipient of theSpingarn Medal in 1989.Still living as of 2021. | | Lawrence Douglas Wilder (b. 1931) — also known asL. Douglas Wilder — ofRichmond,Va.BornJanuary17, 1931.Democrat.Lawyer;member ofVirginiastate senate 9th District, 1974-79; delegate to DemocraticNational Convention from Virginia,1980;LieutenantGovernor of Virginia; elected 1985;Governor ofVirginia, 1990-94; candidate for Democratic nomination forPresident,1992;Independent candidate forU.S.Senator from Virginia, 1994;mayorof Richmond, Va., 2005-.Africanancestry. Member,Freemasons.Received theSpingarn Medal in 1990. Still living as of 2014.  | Colin Luther Powell (1937-2021) — also known asColin L. Powell;"Balloonfoot" —Born in Manhattan,New YorkCounty, N.Y.,April 5,1937.Republican. Served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam war; U.S. Armygeneral; National Security Advisor, 1987-89; chairman, Joint Chiefsof Staff, 1989-93;U.S.Secretary of State, 2001-05; received 3 electoral votes forPresident,2016.Africanancestry.Recipient of theSpingarn medal, 1991; twice recipient of thePresidentialMedal of Freedom, in 1991 and again in 1995.Died, fromCOVID-19,atWalterReed Medical Center, Bethesda,MontgomeryCounty, Md.,October18, 2021 (age84 years, 196days).Burial location unknown.  | Barbara Charline Jordan (1936-1996) — also known asBarbara Jordan — of Houston,HarrisCounty, Tex.Born in Houston,HarrisCounty, Tex.,February21, 1936.Democrat. Member ofTexasstate senate, 1967;U.S.Representative from Texas 18th District, 1973-79;speaker, Democratic National Convention, 1988.Female.Africanancestry.Lesbian.Inducted,NationalWomen's Hall of Fame, 1990; received theSpingarn Medal in1992, and thePresidentialMedal of Freedom in 1994.Died ofleukemiaandmultiplesclerosis,January17, 1996 (age59 years, 330days).Interment atTexasState Cemetery, Austin, Tex. | | Aloyisus Leon Higginbotham Jr. (1928-1998) — also known asA. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. — of Pennsylvania. Born in Trenton,MercerCounty, N.J.,February25, 1928.Member, Federal Trade Commission, 1962-64;U.S.District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 1964-77;Judgeof U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, 1977-93.Africanancestry.Received thePresidentialMedal of Freedom in 1995; received theSpingarn Medal in1996.Died, following a series ofstrokes,in ahospitalat Boston,SuffolkCounty, Mass.,December14, 1998 (age70 years, 292days).Burial location unknown. | | Carl Thomas Rowan (1925-2000) — also known asCarl T. Rowan — ofWashington,D.C.Born in Ravenscroft,WhiteCounty, Tenn.,August11, 1925.Served in the U.S. Navy during World War II; syndicatednewspapercolumnist,author,biographer,televisionandradiocommentator; U.S. Ambassador toFinland, 1963-64; in 1988, heshotand wounded an intruder in his backyard in Washington, D.C.; hewasarrested,chargedwith aweaponsviolation, andtried;the jury was unable to reach a verdict, and a mistrial was declared;received theSpingarn Medal in 1997.Africanancestry. Member,Americansfor Democratic Action.Died, ofheart andkidneyailments anddiabetes,at the WashingtonHospitalCenter,Washington,D.C.,September23, 2000 (age75 years, 43days).Burial location unknown. | | John Robert Lewis (1940-2020) — also known asJohn Lewis — of Atlanta,FultonCounty, Ga.Born in Troy,PikeCounty, Ala.,February21, 1940.Democrat. Among the leaders of the civil rights movement of the1960s; chair, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, 1963-66;board member, Southern Christian Leadership Conference;U.S.Representative from Georgia 5th District, 1987-; defeated, 1977;delegate to Democratic National Convention from Georgia,1996,2000,2004,2008;received theSpingarn Medal in 2002.Baptist.Africanancestry.DiedJuly 17,2020 (age80 years, 147days).Burial location unknown. | | Constance Baker Motley (1921-2005) — of Manhattan,New YorkCounty, N.Y.Born in New Haven,New HavenCounty, Conn.,September14, 1921.Democrat. Member ofNew Yorkstate senate 21st District, 1964-65; alternate delegate toDemocratic National Convention from New York,1964;boroughpresident of Manhattan, New York, 1965-66;U.S.District Judge for the Southern District of New York, 1966-86;took senior status 1986.Female.Africanancestry.Inducted,NationalWomen's Hall of Fame, 1993; received theSpingarn Medal in2003.Died, fromcongestiveheart failure, in NYU DowntownHospital,Manhattan,New YorkCounty, N.Y.,September28, 2005 (age84 years, 14days).Burial location unknown. | | Robert Lee Carter (1917-2012) — also known asRobert L. Carter — of Manhattan,New YorkCounty, N.Y.Born in Caryville,WashingtonCounty, Fla.,March11, 1917.Lawyer;served in the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II;U.S.District Judge for the Southern District of New York, 1972-86;took senior status 1986.Africanancestry. Member,AlphaPhi Alpha.Received theSpingarn Medal in 2004. Died in Manhattan,New YorkCounty, N.Y.,January3, 2012 (age94 years, 298days).Burial location unknown. | | Oliver White Hill (1907-2007) — also known asOliver W. Hill — ofRichmond,Va.Born inRichmond,Va.,May 1,1907.Democrat.Lawyer;served in the U.S. Army during World War II; in 1947, he was electedas thefirstBlack member of Richmond's city council since Reconstruction;Democratic candidate for Presidential Elector for Virginia,1972.Africanancestry. Member,NAACP.Received thePresidentialMedal of Freedom in 1999, and theSpingarn Medal in 2005.Died inRichmond,Va.,August5, 2007 (age100 years,96 days).Interment atForest Lawn Cemetery, Richmond, Va. | | Benjamin Solomon Carson (b. 1951) — also known asBen Carson — of West Palm Beach,Palm BeachCounty, Fla.Born in Detroit,WayneCounty, Mich.,September18, 1951.Republican.Physician;surgeon;candidate for Republican nomination for President,2016;U.S.Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, 2017-.Seventh-DayAdventist.Africanancestry.Recipient of theSpingarn Medal, 2006. Still living as of 2019. | | John James Conyers Jr. (1929-2019) — also known asJohn Conyers, Jr. — of Detroit,WayneCounty, Mich.Born in Highland Park,WayneCounty, Mich.,May 16,1929.Democrat. Served in the U.S. Army during the Korean conflict;lawyer;U.S.Representative from Michigan, 1965-2017 (1st District 1965-93,14th District 1993-2013, 13th District 2013-17); delegate toDemocratic National Convention from Michigan,1968,1972,1976,1984,1988,1996,2000,2004,2008;arrestedduring ananti-apartheidprotest outside the South African Embassy in Washington, 1984;candidate in primary formayorof Detroit, Mich., 1989, 1993; in 2017, it was reported that aformer member of Conyers' staff hadallegedthat he hadsexuallyharassed her, and had been paid a settlement of $27,000;subsequently, the House Ethics Committee started aninvestigationinto multiple such allegations; he subsequentlyresignedfrom Congress.Baptist.Africanancestry. Member,NAACP.Recipient of theSpingarn Medal, 2007. Died in Detroit,WayneCounty, Mich.,October27, 2019 (age90 years, 164days).Entombed atDetroitMemorial Park East, Warren, Mich.  | Julian Bond (1940-2015) — also known asHorace Julian Bond — of Georgia. Born in HubbardHospital,Nashville,DavidsonCounty, Tenn.,January14, 1940.Democrat. A leader of the civil rights movement in the 1960s and1970s; one of the founders of the Student Nonviolent CoordinatingCommittee (SNCC) in 1960, and the Southern Povery Law Center in 1971;member ofGeorgiastate house of representatives, 1967-74; candidate for Democraticnomination for Vice President,1968;member ofGeorgiastate senate 39th District, 1975-87;speaker, Democratic National Convention, 1984 ;candidate forU.S.Representative from Georgia, 1986; chairman, NAACP, 1998-2010.Africanancestry. Member,Freemasons;NAACP.He received theSpingarn Medal in 2009. Died in Fort Walton Beach,OkaloosaCounty, Fla.,August15, 2015 (age75 years, 213days).Burial location unknown. | | | Cicely Tyson (b. 1924) — of Atlanta,FultonCounty, Ga.Born in Manhattan,New YorkCounty, N.Y.,December19, 1924.Democrat.Model;actress;speaker, Democratic National Convention, 1984.Female.Africanancestry. Member,DeltaSigma Theta.Recipient of theSpingarn Medal in 2010, and thePresidentialMedal of Freedom in 2016.Still living as of 2019. | | Nathaniel Raphael Jones (b. 1926) — also known asNathaniel R. Jones — Born in Youngstown,MahoningCounty, Ohio,May 12,1926.Served in the U.S. Army during World War II;lawyer;Judgeof U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, 1979-95.Recipient of theSpingarn Medal in 2016. Still living as of 2017. | | Willie Lewis Brown Jr. (b. 1934) — also known asWillie L. Brown, Jr. — ofSanFrancisco, Calif.Born in Mineola,WoodCounty, Tex.,March20, 1934.Democrat.Lawyer;member ofCaliforniastate assembly, 1964-96;Speaker ofthe California State Assembly, 1981-95; delegate to DemocraticNational Convention from California,1968,1972,1988,1996,2000,2004;Democratic candidate for Presidential Elector for California,1968(on behalf ofHubertH. Humphrey andEdmundS. Muskie);mayorof San Francisco, Calif., 1996-2004; member ofDemocraticNational Committee from California, 2004.Methodist.Africanancestry. Member,PrinceHall Masons.Recipient of theSpingarn Medal in 2018. Still living as of 2018. | | Patrick Gaspard (b. 1967) — Born in Kinshasa,Congo(Kinshasa),1967.White House director of political affairs, 2009-11; U.S. AmbassadortoSouth Africa, 2013-16; president, Open Society Foundation,2017-.Africanancestry.Recipient of theSpingarn Medal in 2019. Still living as of 2019.
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