Letter on the Resignation of United States Supreme Court Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall

Dear Mr. Justice:

It is with deep regret that I acknowledge your letter of retirement from the Supreme Court effective at such time as a successor is qualified.

Our Nation is deeply indebted to you for your long and distinguished public service. Your courageous leadership in the fight for equal opportunity, exemplified by your brief and oral argument in the landmark case of Brown v. Board of Education, is a powerful example of how one person's commitment to his convictions can shape a nation's attitude on such a fundamental issue.

Your distinguished service to our country, first on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, as our Nation's 33rd Solicitor General, and capped by a great career on the Supreme Court will also be long remembered.

Barbara and I wish you happiness and every blessing in your years of retirement.

Sincerely,

George Bush

June 27, 1991.

My Dear Mr. President:

The strenuous demands of court work and its related duties required or expected of a Justice appear at this time to be incompatible with my advancing age and medical condition.

I, therefore, retire as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States when my successor is qualified.

Respectfully,

Thurgood Marshall