Charles H. Houston's StoryBefore I start, I will tell you a little bit about myself. I was born in 1895 in Washington DC to my wonderful parents. My father was an accomplished lawyer, and I aspired to be like him myself. I graduated from Amherst as a valedictorian and went on to be a Director at the NAACP, arguing several important Civil Rights cases before the Supreme Court during the 30s and 40s. At this time, I also began to teach at Howard University, where my paths crossed with that of my student Thurgood Marshall. He was a brilliant brilliant student--a little bit rowdy at times, but absolutely a genius. I saw potential in him--a potential for things great--he had a passion for service, for justice, for change in our society, away from discrimination, racial persecution, and segregation. Taking him under my wing was the greatest pride that I can boast about to others, for the student has become greater than the master. From someone who I looked after, Marshall became the one I look up to and strive to follow. His accomplishments for social justice and equity have been a challenge to his fellow men but especially to myself. Men like to bring up MLK Jr and Malcolm X as the leaders of the Civil Rights movement. While they are not wrong, perhaps the greatest leader of them all was Thurgood Marshall--he worked as a general behind the scenes, working the sociopolitical landscape through the courts, while MLK Jr and Malcolm X harangued the people from their pulpits. The thing I saw in Marshall that was truly admirable was his courage--this I saw while he was still a student with me at Howard University. He was not afraid to challenge societal norms of segregation and racism, but confronted them head on. His powerful convictions are what have created a better America--still not perfect, but one that has gone a long way from 1895.
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