Thurgood Marshall:amer.revolutionary

In the Oval Office, dominated by the president's massive mahogany desk, the unassuming Alexander had walked the same path as Ramsey Clark and Nicholas Katzenbach. Sitting by the side of the desk, Alexander in a soft voice had pressed him to make history by nominating Marshall to replace the retiring Clark. Johnson, again, did not say yes or no. Later, Alexander could only tell Marshall that he had put in a good word for him and not to worry about all the rumors. On June 12, 1967, his last day on the high court, Justice Tom Clark told reporters the president would appoint a replacement "who will fill my shoes to overflowing, possibly break them open."4 His comment sparked a new wave of rumors. Justice Clark's comments raised Marshall's hopes. But as his petite Hawaiian wife later told reporters, she had heard hints before, and "you can't live on hints."5 At the retirement party Johnson was his usual dominating self, alternately bullying and ingratiating himself with both justices and the politicians in the crowd. When Marshall made his way through the faces surrounding Johnson, the president quickly greeted him with a wide smile. The two men loved to drink bourbon and tell stories full of lies. They were the same age and had strong feelings for each other. So it was no surprise when the president threw a long arm around Marshall and briefly pulled him aside. Johnson bluntly told him not to get his hopes up because he was not going to replace Justice Clark. Marshall played it off with a laugh. Standing to his full height, he reminded Johnson that he didn't need a job and there had never been any promise he would get to the high court. Behind his bluster, however, Marshall felt a fierce determination to argue with Johnson right there. It was Marshall's style to apply pressure and fight. But this time he bit his tongue. It didn't make sense to think he could bully Lyndon Johnson in the middle of a party and win. He drove home, cutting across the Mall, with the U.S. Capitol's magnificent white dome glowing to one side and the towering Washington Monument on the other. The nation's grand symbols made him feel small, an outsider. He had missed his chance. The next morning, Tuesday, June 13, Marshall was in his office at the Justice Department on Pennsylvania Avenue when his secretary got a call from the attorney general. It was just before 10:00 a.m., and Clark told her he was coming down to see Marshall and to keep everyone else out. When Clark got into Marshall's office, he asked him what he was doing later that morning. Marshall replied that he was going to the White House to speak with a group of students. Clark told him to go over fifteen minutes early and stop in the Oval Office. Marshall pressed Clark to tell him what was going on. Clark said he didn't know. But given the spate of rumors over the last twenty-four hours and the disaster at the party, Marshall figured this trip was for Johnson to stroke him and tell him why he didn't get the job.6 Meanwhile, the president phoned Louis Martin at the Democratic National Committee that morning and asked him to come to the Oval Office. Before Martin's arrival Johnson placed another call. He told Clifford Alexander to come over as well. Alexander was the first to arrive. He found Johnson sitting in a rocking chair in front of a circular marble coffee table in the middle of the Oval Office. The president was holding handwritten notes on large white index cards. Listed were the names of key members of the Senate Judiciary Committee; the Senate leaders, including Mike Mansfield and Everett Dirksen, the majority and minority leaders; Chief Justice Earl Warren; and a tally of Marshall's record in cases argued before the Supreme Court. Highlighted on one card was the fact that Marshall had been first in his class at Howard Law School. Alexander could barely contain his glee when he realized what was going on. With Alexander stanWilliams, Juan is the author of 'Thurgood Marshall:amer.revolutionary' with ISBN 9780812920284 and ISBN 0812920287.