Group portrait [NAACP lawyers with Esther McCready and others]
September 1950
Paul Henderson (1899-1988)
4 x 5 inch acetate negative
Paul Henderson Photograph Collection
Baltimore City Life Museum Collection
Maryland Historical Society
HEN.02.07-019
Today in 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in by the U.S. Supreme Court. Before becoming the first black justice, Marshall was a lawyer directing legal operations for the NAACP. He argued for equal opportunities for blacks before the Supreme Court in landmark cases such as Pearson, et al. v. Murray (1936) and Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka (1954).
He also argued for equal rights in lesser known cases such as Esther McCready v. Harry C. Byrd, et al. (1949). McCready, pictured here (third from left) with Thurgood Marshall (fourth from left) was denied admission to the University of Maryland School of Nursing solely because of her skin color. McCready sued the university for admission and on April 14, 1950, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled in McCready’s favor.
It is presumed that this photograph was taken after the Maryland Court of Appeals ruling.
