Founded in 1966, the ABA's Section of Individual Rights and Responsibilities is dedicated to fostering a greater appreciation and understanding of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights among members of the bar and the general public. Through education and advocacy, IRR expresses the legal profession's commitment to work to achieve the American ideals of justice, freedom, and equality for all through the legal system. The Thurgood Marshall Award was established in 1992 to help further these goals.

The Thurgood Marshall Award is named for 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 is intended to recognize 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. Justice Marshall received the inaugural award in 1992. Other recipients are:

2008 Award

• Judge Nancy Gertner, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, for her significant contributions as an attorney and judge to forward women's rights, equal access, and the rights of the accused.

2007 Award

• Judge Matthew J. Perry, South Carolina’s first African American U.S. District Court judge, for his essential role in ending segregation in the state of South Carolina.

2006 Award

• North Carolina lawyer Julius L. Chambers, in recognition of his tireless work litigating civil rights cases and his leadership to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

2005 Award

• Hon. Abner J. Mikva , in recognition of his outstanding commitment to the preservation and expansion of civil rights for all Americans..

2004 Award

• Alabama lawyer Fred D. Gray, for his historic impact in representing Rosa Parks and others in landmark civil rights cases.

2003 Award

• San Francisco lawyer Dale Minami, for his dedication to challenging discrimination in all forms and vacating the convictions of Fred Korematsu and other defendants in the World War II internment cases.

2002 Award

• Former Congressman Don Edwards, in recognition of nearly four decades of leadership in the U. S. House of Representatives.
  • Photos from 2002 Thurgood Marshall Award

2001 Award

• Hon. William Wayne Justice, Senior judge of the U. S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, in recognition of "historic and courageous rulings" that have immeasurably advanced civil rights and liberties in Texas.

2000 Award

• Honorable Revius Q. Ortique, Jr., First African American elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court;

1999 Award

• Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Supreme Court Justice, for her contributions to gender equity and civil rights law.

1998 Award

• Stephen B. Bright director of the Southern Center for Human Rights, a public interest law firm that represents clients in criminal trials, prison civil rights actions, and death penalty cases.

1997 Award

• Honorable Damon J. Keith of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in recognition of his lifelong contributions to civil rights advancement as lawyer, judge, and community leader; and

1996 Award

• Jack Greenberg, a civil rights attorney and Columbia University professor who worked with Thurgood Marshall for many years at the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc.;

1995 Award

• Ralph S. Abascal, General Counsel of California Rural Legal Assistance and one of the founders of the environmental justice movement;

1994 Award

• Oliver W. Hill, a civil rights attorney in Richmond, Va., who worked with Justice Marshall on school desegregation cases;

1993 Award

• Honorable Frank M. Johnson, Jr., Senior Judge of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, in recognition of his landmark civil rights decisions in the 1960's and his unwavering commitment as lawyer, judge, and citizen to promoting equal rights for all;