Recognizing those who epitomize individual commitment to protecting civil rights in our country.
Established by the Section in 1992, the award honors U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, who epitomized individual commitment, in word and action, to the cause of civil rights in this country. The award recognizes similar long-term contributions by other members of the legal profession to the advancement of civil rights, civil liberties, and human rights in the United States.
Maya D. Wiley, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights and The Leadership Conference Education Fund, has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 Thurgood Marshall Award.She will receive the award on Saturday, August 9, 2025, during a dinner celebration in Toronto, Canada, as part of the 2025 ABA Annual Meeting.
Eva Paterson, Co-Founder and former President of the Equal Justice Society, has dedicated her life's work to fighting for racial justice and civil rights. The ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice has selected Eva to receive the 2024 Thurgood Marshall Award to celebrate her long-term contributions to advancing civil rights in the United States.
The ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice honored Native American Rights Fund Executive Director John E. Echohawk with the 2023 Thurgood Marshall Award during the 2023 ABA Annual Meeting in Denver, CO.
Sherrilyn Ifill, President and Director-Counsel Emeritus of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), has dedicated her life's work to fighting for racial justice and equality.
Dr. Clarence B. Jones has invested upwards of sixty years of his life to advance U.S. civil rights as a passionate activist, accomplished attorney, and speechwriter to Martin Luther King Jr.
Marian Wright Edelman, founder and president emerita of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), has been an advocate for disadvantaged Americans for her entire professional life.
When you participate in the Thurgood Marshall Award Celebration through sponsorship, you help fund the innovative projects and programs implemented by the ABA Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice to ensure that protection of civil rights remains a focus of legal and policy decisions.
Learn More
