Thurgood Marshall is one of the most well-known figures in the history of civil rights in America and the first Black Supreme Court Justice. Before serving on the Supreme Court, Marshall served as legal director of the NAACP. He was instrumental in demolishing the legal basis for segregation in America. Marshall died in 1993 at the age of 84.
Rosa Parks.
A long-time member of the Montgomery, Ala. chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), her Dec., 1955, Ms. Parks' refusal to give up a seat on a municipal bus to a white man provided the impetus for the Montgomery bus boycott. The successful protest, which lasted a year, marked the emergence of Martin Luther King, Jr., to national prominence as a civil-rights leader. In 1957 Parks moved to Detroit, where she remained active in the civil-rights movement. In 1999 she was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, Congress's highest honor.
Martin Luther King, Jr. .
American clergyman and civil-rights leader, his philosophy of nonviolent resistance led to his arrest on numerous occasions in the 1950s and 60s. His campaigns had mixed success, but the protest he led in Birmingham, Ala., in 1963 brought him worldwide attention. He spearheaded the Aug, 1963, March on Washington, which brought more than 200,000 people together. In 1964 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On Apr. 4, 1968, he was shot and killed as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel (since 1991 a civil-rights museum). James Earl Ray, a career criminal, pleaded guilty to the murder and was convicted, but he soon recanted and claimed he was duped into his plea. Kings' family and supporters believed him, blaming a vast conspiracy resulting in King's death. The truth behind his death is still unknown and highly controversial. .
Coretta Scott King.
She is the widow of Martin Luther King, Jr. After his assassination, she carried on his civil-rights work.
