Maryland Public Television was nominated for a national Emmy Award in the Outstanding Historical Documentary Category for its 2025 film “Becoming Thurgood: America’s Social Architect.”
“Becoming Thurgood” premiered in September 2025 and explored the life and legacy of Thurgood Marshall, visionary lawyer and first Black justice on the United States Supreme Court. Marshall was born in Baltimore in 1908, and the film takes viewers through his childhood to his years at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Lincoln University and Howard University School of Law.
Marshall’s groundbreaking career as a civil rights lawyer dismantling segregation is documented in the film, showing him to be man of action: strategic, courageous, and devoted to justice. He won 29 of the 32 cases he argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, including Brown v. Board of Education in 1954. Winning that case invalidated the “separate but equal” precedent and ended legal racial segregation in public schools, though segregationists and racists across the nation did their utmost to preserve white supremacy.
In 1967, Marshall became the first African American appointed to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, where he served for 24 years until his retirement in 1991.
“To those of us who know the struggle is far from over, history has another lesson,” Marshall said. “It tells us how deeply rooted habits of prejudice are, dominating the minds of men and all our institutions for three centuries, and it cautions us to continue to move forward, lest we fall back.”
Even though Marshall died in 1993, his warning that unless society continued to progress, it would backslide proved accurate. In 2023, the Supreme Court struck down race-conscious college admissions, threatening gains in recruitment, student support programs, and overall college access for students of color. After Donald Trump was inaugurated for his second term in January 2025, he signed multiple executive orders that were aimed at eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in higher education and other areas of society. Many universities complied. Marshall’s historical admonitions remain relevant.
Emmy Awards announcements will be made on May 28, 2026, during ceremonies in New York City. Viewers can watch the film on MPT.
