Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That Changed America

388 Pages·2015·10.72 MB·English

by  Wil Haygood

ALSO BY WIL HAYGOOD
The Butler
Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson
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King of the Cats: The Life and Times of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.
Two on the River (photography by Stan Grossfeld) The Haygoods of Columbus: A
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THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK
PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF
Copyright © 2015 by Wil Haygood
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf,
a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York, and distributed in Canada
by Random House of Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Ltd., Toronto.
www.aaknopf.com
Knopf, Borzoi Books, and the colophon are registered trademarks
of Penguin Random House LLC.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Haygood, Wil, author.
Showdown : Thurgood Marshall and the supreme court nomination
that changed America / by Wil Haygood.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-307-95719-1 (hardcover)–ISBN 978-0-38535316-8 (eBook)
1. Marshall, Thurgood, 1908–1993. 2. United States. Supreme Court–Officials and employees–Selection and
appointment–History–20th century. 3. Judges–Selection and appointment–United States–History–20th
century. I. Title.
KF8745.M34H394 2015
347.732634–dc23 2014044440
Jacket photograph: Thurgood Marshall in his New York residence,
September 11, 1962, after the Senate confirmation of his year-old nomination
to the Second U.S. Court of Appeals. AP Photo.
Back-of-jacket photograph: On June 29, 1991, Thurgood Marshall informs the nation
he is stepping down from the U.S. Supreme Court. © 1999, The Washington Post.
Cover design by Abby Weintraub
v3.1
For Michael B. Coleman, and for Larry James
CONTENTS
Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
PROLOGUE
Bound for Room 2228
DAY ONE: THURSDAY, JULY 13, 1967
1 The Ghosts of Little Rock
2 Willie and Norma Marshall’s Brave Son
DAY TWO: FRIDAY, JULY 14, 1967
3 Battling with a Legendary Country Lawyer
4 A “Philadelphia Negro” Suddenly on Standby
5 Thurgood Marshall and His Southern Hero
6 The Chairman Goes AWOL, and the Hunt Is On for Anti-Marshall
Votes
7 “The Jew”
8 The Long Memory of Evangeline Moore
DAY THREE: TUESDAY, JULY 18, 1967
9 Return of the Prosecutors
10 Painful Interruptions for a President and His Nominee
11 Dear Mr. President
DAY FOUR: WEDNESDAY, JULY 19, 1967
12 A Rebel’s Last Roar
13 Flames
DAY FIVE: MONDAY, JULY 24, 1967
14 The Constitution
15 Thurgood Marshall’s Stand in LBJ’s Texas
POST-HEARING: JULY 25–AUGUST 30, 1967
16 A Nominee in Limbo
CONFIRMATION: SEPTEMBER 1, 1967
17 Good Evening, Mr. Justice Marshall
EPILOGUE
Requiem for Thurgood
Acknowledgments
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
A Note About The Author
Johnson and Marshall prepare to meet the press on the day of the historic nomination.
(Illustration credit fm.1)