Thurgood Marshall, first Black Supreme Court Justice (1967-1991) and civil rights activist

“The legal system can force open doors, and sometimes-even knock down walls, but it cannot build bridges. That job belongs to you and me. The country can’t do it. Afro and White, rich and poor, educated and illiterate, our fates are bound together. We can run from each other, but we cannot escape each other. We will only attain freedom if we learn to appreciate what is different, and muster the courage to discover what is fundamentally the same.” (From a speech, Sept. 6, 1990) July 2, 1908-Jan. 24, 1993