Thurgood Marshall

This question has two parts. First, answer Part A. Then, answer Part B.

Part A
According to the information in the passage, why would the Murray v. Pearson case be especially significant in Marshall’s life?

• because he supported combining all races in schools

• because he had been rejected from the University of Maryland

• because he agreed that only whites should be allowed in some schools

• because he wanted all African Americans to have a choice in where they went to school

Part B
Which quotation from the passage supports the answer to Part A?

• “Marshall grew up in a time when African American people were segregated from white people.” (paragraph 2)

• “He was denied entry because of his race.” (paragraph 3)

• “This case spurred the fight which would eventually allow African American children to attend school with white children.” (paragraph 5)

• “He was the first African American to serve in this position.” (paragraph 7)

Which of the following is an objective summary of the passage? 

• Thurgood Marshall learned about the justice system through his father. He became a lawyer himself so that he could help other African Americans have better lives.

• Thurgood Marshall was the first African American U.S. Supreme Court Justice. He was appointed by President Johnson after working as a lawyer for the NAACP.

• Thurgood Marshall began his career with a professor he met while he was at Howard University. He worked as a layer for the NAACP and was able to move up in the judicial system, where he held many different jobs.

• Thurgood Marshall grew up during segregation and was discriminated against when he could not get into a law school. Later, he got a law degree, fought for African American rights, and became a Supreme Court Justice.

How did the relationship between Marshall and Houston advance Marshall’s career?

• Houston helped Marshall win several historic cases.

• Houston helped Marshall get into law school at Howard University.

• Marshall and Houston started a law firm together to fight discrimination.

• Houston worked with Marshall at both Howard University and later with the NAACP.

Which one sentence from paragraph 5 explains why African American parents would want their children to attend the same schools as white children?

• Sentence 1

• Sentence 2

• Sentence 3

• Sentence 4

Based on the information in the passage, what does the word segregated mean as it is used in paragraph 2?

• inferrior

• judged

• separated

• together

What are the two main ideas of the passage?

• Thurgood Marshall was an important civil rights leader.

• Thurgood Marshall grew up during the time of segregation.

• Thurgood Marshall was instrumental in many racial discrimination cases

• Thurgood Marshall was the first African American U.S. Supreme Court judge.

• Thurgood Marshall got his law degree from an historic African American University.

Read paragraphs 5 and 6. 

How are both paragraphs structured? 

• They describe each case in detail.

• They answer questions about each of the cases.

• They compare different cases Marshall presided over.

• They show the effect of the cases Marshall judged or defended.

Which quotation supports the claim in paragraph 7 that Marshall’s “role in the justice system helped to make much of the progress toward racial equality possible”? 

• “So, Thurgood grew up learning about the justice system.” (paragraph 2)

• “His firsthand experiences with racism and unequal treatment in his college years fueled his career as a civil rights advocate.” (paragraph 3)

• “The greatest accomplishment of Marshall's career was his victory in the famous Brown v. Board of Education case.” (paragraph 5)

• “The next president, Lyndon B. Johnson, appointed him to serve as the U.S. Solicitor General.” (paragraph 7)