Post

How to get URL link on X (Twitter) App

On the Twitter thread, click on or icon on the bottom
Click again on or Share Via icon
Click on Copy Link to Tweet
Paste it above and click "Unroll Thread"!
More info at Twitter Help

Legal Defense Fund

May 16, 2020 • 9 tweets • 6 min read • Read on X

🚨 Tomorrow is the 66th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education the case that struck down "separate but equal." The hard-fought victory won by LDF attorneys & founder Thurgood Marshall redefined equality & justice in America.

naacpldf.org/brown-vs-board/

Meet the legal minds behind #BrownvBoard:

LDF founder Thurgood Marshall was the key strategist in the effort to end racial segregation. Marshall constantly traveled to courtrooms throughout the South at one point, overseeing as many as 450 simultaneous cases.

Jack Greenberg succeeded Thurgood Marshall as LDF’s second Director-Counsel from 1961-84.

At 27-years-old, Greenberg became the youngest member of the team of lawyers that brought the #BrownvBoard school desegregation cases to the Supreme Court.

Constance Baker Motley earned her reputation as the chief courtroom strategist of the civil rights movement. She successfully litigating cases that ended segregation in various southern locales.

Motley later became the first black woman to serve as a federal judge.

After his release from the army in 1944, Carter became a legal assistant to Thurgood Marshall, & the following year assistant special counsel.

Carter served as lead attorney in the Topeka school desegregation case, 1 of the 5 cases which were consolidated to form #BrownvBoard.

@HowardUniv

Oliver Hill attended @HowardUniv & @howardlawschool where he graduated with close friend Thurgood Marshall.

Hill argued the Davis case, a lawsuit on behalf of students protesting terrible conditions at their segregated high schoo, which became 1 of 5 cases decided under Brown.

@howardlawschool

Charles Hamilton Houston played an invaluable role in dismantling segregation and mentoring the crop of civil rights lawyers who would ultimately litigate & win #BrownvBoard. At @howardlawschool, he served as Thurgood Marshall’s mentor & his eventual employer at @NAACP_LDF.

@Morehouse

James Nabrit Jr. graduated from @Morehouse & @NorthwesternLaw. He taught at @howardlawschool & was credited with creating the 1st formal civil rights course in any US law school. Nabrit's most substantial legal victory was Bolling v. Sharpe, one of the cases decided in Brown.

At LDF, Spottswood Robinson III was involved in #BrownvBoard litigation, and Chance v. Lambeth, which challenged racial segregation in interstate transportation, in addition to spearheading the Virginia desegregation case in Brown.

• • •

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

More from @NAACP_LDF

Legal Defense Fund

@NAACP_LDF

May 17, 2022

May 17, 1954, the day the decision in Brown vs. Board of Education was issued, marks a defining moment in the history of the United States. The Supreme Court declared the doctrine of “separate but equal” unconstitutional.

naacpldf.org/brown-vs-board/

To litigate Brown vs. Board of Education, Thurgood Marshall recruited the nation’s best attorneys. LDF lawyers were assisted by a brain trust of legal scholars, historians, and social science researchers. More about the legal minds behind the case: naacpldf.org/brown-vs-board…

The legal victory in Brown v. Board of Education did not transform the country overnight, and much work remains. However, striking down segregation in U.S. public schools provided a major catalyst for the civil rights movement. Its impact has been felt by every American.

Read 8 tweets

Legal Defense Fund

@NAACP_LDF

Feb 21, 2022

In 1961, John Lewis joined the Freedom Riders, a group traveling by bus to ensure that the Supreme Court decision banning discrimination in transportation services was upheld. They were repeatedly physically attacked and imprisoned, but they remained steadfast in their objective.

LDF directly represented Mr. Lewis and other activists in numerous civil rights matters. LDF founder Thurgood Marshall was on the Lewis v. Greyhound legal team, which involved a violent attack on the Freedom Riders at the Montgomery, AL, bus terminal.
naacpldf.org/naacp-publicat…

In 1963, Mr. Lewis became the national chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He was one of the organizers of the 1963 March on Washington and, at the age of 23, was the youngest individual to make remarks at the event.

Watch his speech: naacpldf.org/march-on-washi…

Read 5 tweets

Legal Defense Fund

@NAACP_LDF

Jan 17, 2022

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the March on Washington to call for an end to segregation, economic justice, and access to the ballot. Today, the fight for voting rights is just as urgent. naacpldf.org/march-on-washi…

As buses pulled into D.C. and hundreds arrived via trains onto the National Mall for the March on Washington, the gravity of the moment was clear. 250,000 people marched — the unprecedented turnout was a testament to the power of grassroots organizing. naacpldf.org/march-on-washi…

When MLK gave his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, the passage of the Voting Rights Act was still two years away. Echoing his earlier calls to give us the ballot, he said “We cannot be satisfied” until we have the right to vote and a voice in our democracy.

Read 4 tweets

Legal Defense Fund

@NAACP_LDF

Nov 17, 2021

@Sifill_LDF

TONIGHT at 9:00PM EST: @Sifill_LDF joins @Maddow live to discuss her decision to step down as LDF President and Director-Counsel.

@Sifill_LDF

"I’ve worked very hard to make LDF strong and to help Americans see that civil rights institutions and civil rights work is critical—not just for the citizenship and dignity of Black people, but for the health of American democracy." @Sifill_LDF

@Sifill_LDF

“2024 is coming very quickly and I want to make sure the next leader [of LDF] is fully in place and prepared for that. The next chapter for me…will always involve this work that I have committed my life to.” -@Sifill_LDF

Read 4 tweets

Legal Defense Fund

@NAACP_LDF

Oct 20, 2021

@Sifill_LDF

Starting now! @Sifill_LDF joins @allinwithchris on @MSNBC to discuss the Freedom to Vote Act. The bill aimed at strengthening voting rights and overhauling the nation's election systems failed to advance in the Senate today.

@Sifill_LDF

"The reality of what we are dealing with is no different than the reality of what Black voters were dealing with in 1964. Voter suppression was being perpetuated and advanced to keep fellow citizens from being able to vote...and that is what is happening today." -@Sifill_LDF

@Sifill_LDF

"When we see a vote like this today—not a vote against a bill, but a vote against talking about a bill—in what is supposed to be the greatest deliberative body in the world, the United States Senate, then we know our democracy has lost its way." -@Sifill_LDF

Read 4 tweets

Legal Defense Fund

@NAACP_LDF

May 26, 2021

@SIfill_LDF

.@SIfill_LDF joins @maddow to discuss the anniversary of #GeorgeFloyd's death and today's confirmation of Kristen Clarke. Tune in tonight at 9:35 ET on @MSNBC

@Sifill_LDF

We are not out of the woods yet, but there have been important shifts that have happened.

“One of the most important is in the narrative of the nature of policing. We are now not just talking about individuals, we are talking about reimagining public safety.” —@Sifill_LDF

@Sifill_LDF

There has been a policy shift. There are multiple states that have passed laws requiring more transparency and police accountability.

“We don’t want to forget these changes are happening—because we saw the largest mass protest ever in the United States last summer.”@Sifill_LDF