45 years ago today, Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as associate justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Before becoming the first black justice of the SCOTUS, Marshall had served as chief counsel of the NAACP.

Marshall’s most notable legal victory was Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court case that struck down the “separate but equal” statute established by Plessy v. Ferguson. Marshall was nominated for the Court by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967. He was succeeded by Justice Clarence Thomas.

We salute the legacy of the late Justice Thurgood Marshall.

Many believe that this year’s presidential election is especially crucial because the next president will likely nominate at least one justice to the Court.

What will the key Supreme Court decisions of this era be?

Affirmative action? Same-sex marriage?

Sound off below!