The message to the beloved Children of God - It's Christ who strengthens Us !

In honor of Black History Month, known also as African-American History Month in America. Everyday we will have a study on Black History and God's love.

The First African American to Serve on the U.S. Supreme Court - Thurgood Marshall.

Thurgood Marshall, he was also known as: (born name) Thoroughgood Marshall. Don't overlook the strength from within, Thurgood Marshall, the great-grandson of slaves, was the first African American justice appointed to the United States Supreme Court, where he served from 1967 to 1991. Earlier in his career, Marshall was a pioneering civil rights attorney who successfully argued the landmark case Brown v Board of Education (a major step in the fight to desegregate American schools). The 1954 Brown decision is considered one of the most significant civil rights victories of the 20th century. Born in Baltimore, Maryland on January 24, 1908, Thurgood Marshall (named "Thoroughgood" at birth) was the second son of Norma and William Marshall. Norma was an elementary school teacher and William worked as a railroad porter. When Thurgood was two years old, the family moved to Harlem in New York City, where Norma earned an advanced teaching degree at Columbia University. The Marshalls returned to Baltimore in 1913 when Thurgood was five years old.

Thurgood and his brother, Aubrey, attended an elementary school for blacks only and their mother taught in one as well. In high school, Marshall earned decent grades, but had a tendency to stir up trouble in the classroom. As punishment for some of his misdeeds, he was ordered to memorize portions of the U.S. Constitution. By the time he left high school, Thurgood Marshall knew the entire Constitution by memory. Marshall always knew that he wanted to go to college, but realized his parents couldn't afford to pay his tuition. Thus, he began saving money while he was in high school, working as a delivery boy and a waiter. In September 1925, Marshall entered Lincoln University, an African American college in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. By his second year at Lincoln, Marshall had decided he didn't want to become a dentist, planning instead to use his oratory gifts as a practicing attorney. After graduating from Lincoln in 1930, Marshall enrolled at Howard University Law School, a historically black college in Washington, D.C. where his brother Aubrey was attending medical school. (Marshall's first choice had been the University of Maryland Law School, but he was refused admission because of his race.) Norma Marshall pawned her wedding and engagement rings to help her younger son pay his tuition.
Marshall and his wife lived with his parents in Baltimore to save money. From there, Marshall took the train to Washington every day and worked three part-time jobs to make ends meet. Thurgood Marshall's hard work paid off. He rose to the top of the class in his first year and won the plum job of assistant in the law school library. There he worked closely with the man who became his mentor, law school dean Charles Hamilton Houston. Houston, who resented the discrimination he had suffered as a soldier during World War I, had made it his mission to educate a new generation of African American lawyers. He envisioned a group of attorneys who would use their law degrees to fight racial discrimination. Houston was convinced that the basis for that fight would be the U.S. Constitution itself. He made a profound impression upon Marshall. While working in the Howard law library, Marshall came into contact with several lawyers and activists from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He joined the organization and became an active member. Marshall began taking cases for the NAACP and was hired as part-time legal counsel in 1935. As his reputation grew, Marshall became known not only for his skill as a lawyer, but also for his bawdy sense of humor and love of story-telling. In the late 1930s, Marshall represented African American teachers in Maryland who were receiving only half the pay that white teachers earned. Marshall won equal-pay agreements in nine Maryland school boards and in 1939, convinced a federal court to declare unequal salaries for public school teachers unconstitutional. He became known as "The Great Dissenter." In 1980, the University of Maryland honored Marshall by naming its new law library after him. Still bitter about how the university had rejected him 50 years earlier, Marshall refused to attend the dedication. Marshall resisted the idea of retirement, but by the early 1990s, his health was failing and he had problems with both his hearing and vision. On June 27, 1991, Thurgood Marshall submitted his letter of resignation to President George H. W. Bush. Marshall was replaced by Justice Clarence Thomas. Thurgood Marshall died of heart failure on January 24, 1993 at the age of 84; he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Marshall was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Clinton in November 1993.

The message to the beloved Children of God - It's Christ who strengthens Us !

The word of the Lord, have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. "Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” The Bible wasn't written to us, but for us. Read Philippians 4:13, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. We need to be reminded that our strength does not come from ourselves, but from our Heavenly Father. The study of God's Word demands our best attention. Read 2 Timothy 2:15 , Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. The Holy Spirit teaches us, but we must apply ourselves as well. We need your power Lord, help us, we can do nothing on our own. Let us grow into the knowledge of the fullness of Christ Jesus. To have the fullness is to know that God's Word means what it says ! For it is written for you have set us free from darkness. Heavenly Father, My prayer for the people of God, in Colossians 1:10-13, That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. Thank you Lord for your power and your word. Amen !