Remarks of Thurgood Marshall - Before Philadelphia Cotillion
Press Release
December 30, 1954

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Press Releases, Loose Pages. Remarks of Thurgood Marshall - Before Philadelphia Cotillion, 1954. fb06b9ea-bb92-ee11-be37-00224827e97b. LDF Archives, Thurgood Marshall Institute. https://ldfrecollection.org/archives/archives-search/archives-item/e7bc4e36-b175-4335-ab97-3e28e303c324/remarks-of-thurgood-marshall-before-philadelphia-cotillion. Accessed May 20, 2025.
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PRESS RELEASE ® @ NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND 107 WEST 43 STREET © NEW YORK 36, N. Y. © JUdson 6-8397 ARTHUR B. SPINGARN THURGOOD MARSHALL President Director and Counsel WALTER WHITE ROBERT L. CARTER Secretary Assistant Counsel ALLAN KNIGHT CHALMERS ARNOLD DE MILLE Treasurer Press Relations REMARKS OF THURGOOD MARSHALL - BEFORE PHILADELPHIA COTILLION December 30, 195i, PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 30.--I am indeed grateful to the Philadelphia Cotillion Society and the citizens of Philadelphia for this award of the Emerald Cross of Malta, I shall never forget this occasion, However, in accepting the Award, I must make it clear to all con- cerned that the worl: that has been accomplished in the field of bettering conditions for Negro Americans, hes been made possible only through the unselfish cooperation of a staff of lawyers and others working full-time, along with that of a much larger croup of lawyers and social scientists who have worked part-time without pay of any kind, This combination of men and women has «aade it possible to ale the “cains we have made to date. Over and beyond this group of technicians of one sort or another is the full backing of the N.A.A.C.P. anc its branches throughout the country. On every occasion of this type we must recognize that none of this would be possible without the courage of the Negroes cirectly involved in litigation. For example, Negro parents anc school chil- dren in Clarendon County, South Carolina, Prince Edward County, Virginia and iilford, Jelaware. They not only had the courage of their convictions to stand up and be counted in the fight against discrimination but insisted on bringing all law suits in the deepest of the Deep South and have stood by despite all kinds of threats anc intimidation through a long period of litigation lasting more than five years. The least that any real American can do is to help in every way possible to support these true Americans in ther fight to make our Constitution a meaningful instrument for the free- com of all mankind, and to protect the dignity of the individual American wit’.out regard to race or color. That is all that we have been trying to co, This Award will do much to inspire accelerated progress toward the goal we are all so conficent of achieving, + 30 -