Thurgood, a one man 90 minute play by George Stevens, Jr., was performed last night by Laurence Fishburne at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. Mr. Fishburne, star of television, film and Broadway, told the story of Thurgood Marshall (1908-1993), a Baltimore native and grandson of a slave, who became the first African-American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. He was well-known for winning the case of Brown v. Board of Education.
Marshall's first name was really Thoroughgood, but he shortened it to Thurgood in second grade because he disliked spelling it. He was punished for school misbehavior by being forced to write copies of the Constitution!
Mr. Marshall is buried in Arlington Cemetery and Baltimore's airport, BWI, was renamed Thurgood Marshall Airport in his honor.
