 A legendary U.S. Supreme Court Justice once said, You do what you think is right, and then let the law catch up. A descendant of slaves, Thurgood Marshall, who later changed his name to Thurgood, was born in Baltimore on July 2, 1908, to William Canfield Marshall, a railroad porter, and Norma Erica Marshall, a teacher. While attending Lincoln University, the future Supreme Court Justice was suspended twice for pranking and hazing his fellow students.