Rose Rosetree’s Reviews > Root and Branch: Charles Hamilton Houston, Thurgood Marshall, and the Struggle to End Segregation > Status Update

So sad, the passing of Charles Hamilton Houston. He was 61.

What a golden life of service!

Heroic Houston and Marshall took on restrictive covenants that prevented Black Americans from purchasing houses.

At the Supreme Court, before the trial 1/3 of the Justices recused themselves because their own homes were restricted by these restrictive, racist covenants.

Thurgood Marshall and Charles Hamilton Houston were instrumental in halting fires of 4,000 railroad employees -- to be fired becuase of the color of their skin.

By now this amazing attorney and public speaker was also spearheding how to fundraise to ensure the survival of the NAACP. How I admire Thurgood Marshall!

Another brilliant idea from Thurgood Marshall: Establishing a Legal Defense Fund for the NAACP, so that donations might become tax deductible.

Thurgood Marshall faced danger in Dallas, threatened violence against him for defending the rights of Black men to serve as jurors.

Such courage in action!

As a result of the actions of many courageous Americans, Black jurors began to appear in juries in Texas. For the first time!

No success this time, but Thurgood Marshall's work was still proceeding, still gaining power.

Making a big change in the direction of truth and racial justice? Which was harder to bear, how long it took... or contemplating the speech, the actions, the faces of proud-and-intransigent bigots?

The NAACP and Thurgood Marshall spearheaded the fight to end lynching in America, making it a federal crime.

Oh the tragedy of Lloyd Gaines.

Winning the case, losing the man. (A mysterious disappearance, tragic consequences for a many whose court case helped so many Black Americans to gain good educations.)

Thurgood Marshall's six-month "temporary" work with the NAACP begins. It will continue for the next 25 years.

Prosecuting, for instance, landmark cases to help Black students be admitted to American high schools. Serving valiantly.