Cecilia Suyat Marshall Oral History Interview: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The oral history consists of six digital files: 2011.174.97.1a, 2011.174.97.1b, 2011.174.97.1c, 2011.174.97.1d, 2011.174.97.1e, and 2011.174.97.1f.

Cecilia Suyat Marshall recalls moving from Hawaii to New York where she found a job as a secretary with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1948. Marshall notes some of the highlights of her experiences at the NAACP offices, including the organization's victory in the Brown v. Board case, traveling the South with NAACP staff, and attending conferences. There she met the many local people who gave the Civil Rights Movement strength. She left the organization after her marriage to Justice Thurgood Marshall, and with that departure became more of a mother and wife than an activist, but retained her activist spirit with membership on the boards of progressive organizations.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: June 30, 2013
• Created by: Civil Rights History Project, American, founded 2009
• Interview of: Cecilia Suyat Marshall, American, 1928 - 2022
• Interviewed by: Dr. Emilye Crosby Ph. D., American
• Subject of: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American, founded 1909
• Subject of: Oliver L. Brown, American, 1918 - 1961
• Subject of: Board of Education of Topeka, American
• Subject of: Thurgood Marshall, American, 1908 - 1993
• Type: video recordings
• Type: oral histories
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: Duration: 30 min., 49 sec.
• Dimensions: Total: 48.53 GB
• Place collected: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Hawaii, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Associations and institutions
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Domestic life
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Justice
• Object number: 2011.174.97.1a-f
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in partnership with the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture and The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.