【美国人物志】瑟古德·马歇尔 (6/9)

英语自学网

瑟古德·马歇尔（Thurgood Marshall，1908年7月2日－1993年1月24日），美国法律人士，1967年至1991年间担任美国最高法院大法官，他是第一位担任此职的黑人。
在担任大法官前，马歇尔曾在布朗诉托皮卡教育局案中担任原告律师，主张南方各州实施的种族隔离政策违反美国宪法第十四修正案，在最高法院获得胜诉。布朗案因宣告种族隔离政策违宪而成为美国历史上一个里程碑式的判决，美国前总统小布什称其为“一个使美国永远更好的判决”。
Hints:
Thurgood Marshall
Supreme Court
Mister Marshall
racially-separated
Topeka
Kansas

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Thurgood Marshall did not listen to the threats against his life. And he did not listen to those who said he should move more slowly. The Supreme Court heard the case in 1954. Mister Marshall said it was a violation of the Constitution to separate people because of their race.
So, he argued, the racially-separated schools in Topeka, Kansas, were illegal. He added that nothing could be equal in racially-separated schools.
One Supreme Court justice asked him to explain what he meant by the word equal. He answered: "Equal means getting the same thing, at the same time, and in the same place. The Supreme Court agreed. It ruled that no one could be rejected from a school in Topeka because of race.”