The revered legacy of civil rights leader and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall was celebrated Saturday in San Diego, where the Navy christened a massive fuel ship in his name at the General Dynamics-NASSCO shipyard.
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Three members of Marshall’s family cracked a bottle of Champagne against the hull of the 746-foot USNS Thurgood Marshall, eliciting cheers at the very moment sunlight broke through the marine layer.
The vessel is the seventh John Lewis-class oilier built by NASSCO. All ships in this class are named after renowned American civil and human rights leaders and activists. The sixth vessel, USNS Sojourner Truth, will be delivered to the Navy on Tuesday.
Photos: USNS Thurgood Marshall christening
Marshall is remembered for the civil rights work he did as an NAACP lawyer from the mid-1930s to early 1960s and for his later rulings as the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court.
He is especially well-known for his lead role in Brown v. Board of Education, a case in which he and others convinced the Supreme Court that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. The ruling was issued in 1954.
Marshall argued 32 cases before the court, winning all but three. His success greatly factored into President Lyndon Johnson’s decision in 1967 to appoint him to the Supreme Court, a move that came during a period of violence nationwide due to the Civil Rights Movement.
He served on the court for 24 years, offering voting in favor of affirmative action programs and women’s reproductive rights, and against the death penalty.
Marshall was lionized Saturday by Vice Adm. Douglas Verissimo, Naval Air Forces, U.S. Pacific Fleet.
The late justice “demonstrated extraordinary courage in the pursuit of justice,” he said. “His legacy is one of unwavering courage, intellectual brilliance, and unyielding commitment to our Constitution.
“Ships take on the spirit of their namesake. Thurgood Marshall carries forward this legacy of determination and perseverance,” Verissimo said.
Praise also came from Rear Adm. Benjamin Nicholson, commander of Military Sea Lift Command.
“With our nation celebrating 250 years of innovation and maritime dominance this year, USNS Thurgood Marshall represents our enduring commitment to shaping the future of our fleet,” Nicholson said.
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“She will embody the strength and capability required to remain ready and able when called upon to support our warfighters,” he said.
A third perspective was offered by Marshall’s granddaughter Cecilia Marshall, a current member of the Board of Directors of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
In particular, she mentioned her grandfather’s efforts to defend Black sailors who got into deep trouble during the so-called Port Chicago incident.
In July 1944, a cargo ship being stocked with explosives in the San Francisco Bay Area exploded, killing 320 sailors and civilians, the majority of whom were Black.
Despite being untrained for the job, surviving Black sailors were ordered to resume ammunition loading weeks later. Nearly 260 sailors refused. Most relented under pressure. But 50 refused and were sentenced to hard labor ranging from 8 to 15 years.
“My grandfather was sent to observe what became the largest court-martial in U.S. history,” Cecilia Marshall said.
“He spent two weeks interviewing the men, reviewing the evidence, and when the Navy delivered quick verdict after deliberating just 45 minutes, he went directly to the Secretary of the Navy and fought until those men received reduced sentences, returned to active duty, and honorable discharges.”
Those sailors were exonerated 80 years later by former Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro, who was in the audience Saturday.
Cecilia Marshall also had loving words to say when she recalled her grandfather’s death in 1993, at age 84.
“I stood in the Great Hall of the Supreme Court, dressed in my finest, next to his casket, watching thousands of people file past to pay their respect,” she said.
“I saw grandmothers, mothers and their children quietly honoring him. I struggled to understand why people who weren’t family would wait for hours just to be there. As I grew up and learned his legacy, I understood.”
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