On May 17, The Episcopal Church celebrates the Feast of Thurgood Marshall, an Episcopalian who became the first African-American justice appointed to the United States Supreme Court. The St. James’ community will celebrate his feast on Sunday, May 19, reflecting on his legacy and praying for movement in the paths of reconciliation and justice. The Union of Black Episcopalians, Myra McDaniel Chapter, will be hosting our guest preacher, The Rev. Marcea Paul, at 8 am and 10:15 am, and offering a reception following the 10:15 am service in Founders’ Hall. The celebration will continue at the 5:30 pm Children’s Service, where Liz Powell will preach.
About Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was born in 1908 in Baltimore, where he attended Frederick Douglass High School before majoring in American literature and philosophy at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and graduating magna cum laude from Howard University law school in Washington, D.C.
After Marshall passed the bar in 1933, he went into private practice in Baltimore, specializing in civil-rights cases. By the following year, he became the legal counsel for Baltimore’s branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Marshall won his first major civil-rights decision, Murray v. Pearson, in 1936, which allowed black students to attend the University of Maryland for the first time.
Marshall successfully argued 29 out of his 32 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He is most widely remembered for winning the 1954 case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, in which the Supreme Court declared the “separate but equal” doctrine unconstitutional and which resulted in the desegregation of U.S. public schools.
In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson appointed Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court, where Marshall served until his retirement in 1991.
The Archives of the Episcopal Church features a page on Thurgood Marshall as part of an ongoing exhibit “The Church Awakens: African-Americans and the Struggle for Justice” on its website.
About our Guest Preacher, The Rev. Marcea Paul
Marcea is the Curate for Pastoral Care at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, Austin. There, her ministry focuses on increasing Good Shepherd’s lay capacity to care for the homebound, the grieving, the sick, and those recovering from surgery or adjusting to life with a newborn.
Born in Jamaica and raised in Canada, Marcea was baptized and confirmed in the Anglican Church. As an adult, she relocated with her family to Miami, Florida. It was there that she, with the support of the community, discerned a call to serve God’s people in ordained ministry. After a career in accounting, she was ordained to the diaconate and served as deacon and parish administrator before attending seminary, and later earned her Master of Divinity (MDiv) at Virginia Theological Seminary. Marcea has five grown sons and five beautiful grandchildren.
The Union of Black Episcopalians, Myra McDaniel Chapter
Find out more about the UBE Myra McDaniel Chapter and the One Human Race initiative through their new website.
