Cecilia Suyat Marshall facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Cecilia Suyat Marshall
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Cecilia (left) along with Thurgood Marshall (right), and their sons in 1965
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Cecilia Suyat
July 20, 1928 |
| Died | November 22, 2022 (aged 94) Falls Church, Virginia, U.S.
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| Occupation | Civil rights activist and historian |
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Cecilia Suyat Marshall (July 20, 1928 – November 22, 2022) was an American civil rights activist and historian. She was born in Hawaii and was of Filipino descent.
Cecilia was married to Thurgood Marshall. He was the first African-American Justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. They were married from 1955 until his death in 1993.
Her life story is shared at the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian. The Library of Congress also recorded her experiences with civil rights in the United States. In the 1940s and 1950s, she worked as a secretary for the NAACP.
Early Life and Work
Cecilia "Cissy" Suyat was born in Pu'unene, Maui, Hawaii. Her birthday was July 20, 1928. Her parents came from the Philippines in 1910.
Her father owned a printing company. Her mother passed away when Cecilia was young. She grew up in Hawaii with many brothers and sisters.
Later, Suyat moved to New York City to live with her aunt and uncle. Her father suggested this move. After that, she started working for the NAACP. This job was in Washington D.C..
One of her first tasks was to protest a film called The Birth of a Nation. She picketed the movie at a local theater. Soon, the theater stopped showing the film.
Suyat also took night classes at Columbia University. She studied to become a court secretary. From 1948 to 1955, she was the private secretary for Dr. Gloster B. Current. He was a leader at the NAACP. She played an important part in the famous Brown v. Board of Education court case. This case helped end segregation in schools.
Marriage and Family
Cecilia Suyat met Thurgood Marshall while working. Marshall's first wife, Vivian Burey, passed away from lung cancer. Suyat and Marshall then married on December 17, 1955.
Roy Wilkins, who was the secretary of the NAACP, led their wedding service. It took place at St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Harlem, New York. Famous visitors to their home included Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.
Cecilia and Thurgood Marshall had two sons. Their sons are John W. Marshall and Thurgood Marshall Jr.. John W. Marshall later became a director for the U.S. Marshals Service.
Later Life and Legacy
Cecilia Suyat Marshall spent her life working to preserve history. She continued to fight for civil rights even after her husband's death. She believed that there was still much work to do for equality.
In 2013, she gave an oral history interview for the Library of Congress. This interview was part of the Civil Rights History Project Act of 2009. Her story is now part of the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian. This project aimed to record interviews with people involved in the Civil Rights Movement.
In 2004, Suyat attended the opening of a new school building. This school was the Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change. It is located in Harlem, New York City.
Cecilia Suyat Marshall passed away on November 22, 2022. She was 94 years old. She died in Falls Church, Virginia.
See also
In Spanish: Cecilia Suyat Marshall para niños
