Who was the American civil rights lawyer and the first Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court?

• A. Clarence Thomas
• B. Thurgood Marshall
• C. Ruth Bader Ginsburg
• D. Sonia Sotomayor

Answer: (B)

Thurgood Marshall is the one who fits both parts of the description. He built his career as a leading American civil rights lawyer, arguing many landmark cases before the Supreme Court—most famously Brown v. Board of Education, which helped end legal segregation in public schools. He later became the first Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, serving from 1967 to 1991 and shaping civil rights and equal-protection jurisprudence from the bench. The other names are notable justices, but they do not combine both roles: Clarence Thomas is Black and a justice, but not the civil rights lawyer who argued the major cases; Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor are not Black.