Current Status Introducing Body:Senate Bill Number:266 Primary Sponsor:Mitchell Type of Legislation:CR Subject:Marshall, Thurgood Date Bill Passed both Bodies:19930128 Computer Document Number:DKA/4196AL.93 Introduced Date:19930126 Last History Body:Senate Last History Date:19930128 Last History Type:Received from House Scope of Legislation:Statewide All Sponsors:Mitchell Bryan Cork Courson Courtney Drummond Elliott Ford Giese Glover Gregory Hayes Holland Jackson Land Lander Leatherman Leventis Macaulay Martin Matthews McConnell McGill Mescher Moore O'Dell Passailaigue Patterson Peeler Rankin Reese Richter Rose Russell Ryberg Saleeby Setzler Short Greg Smith J. Verne Smith Stilwell Thomas Waldrep Washington Williams Wilson Type of Legislation:Concurrent Resolution
Bill Body Date Action Description CMN Leg Involved
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266 Senate 19930128 Received from House
266 House 19930127 Introduced, adopted, returned
with concurrence
266 Senate 19930126 Introduced, adopted, sent to
House
View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.
EXPRESSING THE DEEPEST AND SINCEREST SYMPATHY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY UPON THE DEATH OF THE HONORABLE THURGOOD MARSHALL, UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT JUSTICE.
Whereas, Thurgood Marshall died on Sunday, January 24, 1993, at the age of eighty-four; and
Whereas, Justice Marshall was born and reared in Baltimore, Maryland, and was excluded from attending the "all-white" law school at the University of Maryland; and
Whereas, after graduating from Howard University Law School in Washington, D.C., Mr. Marshall began his long and distinguished career as a civil rights lawyer; and
Whereas, Mr. Marshall brought lawsuits that integrated not only the University of Maryland, but also several other state university systems; and
Whereas, after several years as assistant special counsel and special counsel to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Mr. Marshall founded and became director and legal counsel for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.; and
Whereas, during his twenty-one years as legal director, Mr. Marshall was the principal architect of the strategy of using the courts to provide what the political system would not: a definition of equality that assured black Americans full rights of citizenship; and
Whereas, the legal doctrine of segregation was challenged repeatedly and overturned under his leadership, thereby, integrating colleges and universities, interstate travel, and parks; and
Whereas, Mr. Marshall left a lasting legacy in South Carolina after arguing the 1950 Briggs v. Elliott case for equal education opportunity in Clarendon County; and
Whereas, Briggs v. Elliott was one of five cases consolidated into Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark 1954 United States Supreme Court case in which the court set the standard that "separate but equal" schools for blacks and whites was unjust; and
Whereas, Mr. Marshall argued the case himself before the United States Supreme Court; and
Whereas, in 1961, President John F. Kennedy appointed him to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York City, and during his years there, Judge Marshall authored one hundred twelve opinions, none of which was overturned on appeal; and
Whereas, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Marshall as Solicitor General of the United States, the federal government's chief advocate in the Supreme Court; and
Whereas, in 1967, President Johnson nominated Thurgood Marshall to the United States Supreme Court and he became the first black to sit on the highest court in the nation; and
Whereas, Justice Marshall used his position to continue his ideals by writing opinions to express his disappointment and anger over the retreat from affirmative action and other remedies for discrimination he believed were still necessary to combat the nation's legacy of racism; and
Whereas, Justice Marshall was the premier constitutional lawyer and an inspiration to several generations of lawyers, not only in the civil rights area but all areas dealing with equal justice under the law; and
Whereas, Justice Marshall was a reminder to all of the depth and meaning of the United State Constitution; and
Whereas, Justice Marshall retired from the United State Supreme Court in 1991 for health reasons; and
Whereas, the people of this State and of the nation have lost a great advocate in the death of Justice Thurgood Marshall. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate, the House of Representatives concurring:
That the members of the South Carolina General Assembly express their deepest and sincerest sympathy to the family of Justice Thurgood Marshall upon his death.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to his widow.