In the prologue to his book Showdown, Wil Haygood states that even though slavery had ended, in the 1960s African Americans were still not free, and Marshall Thurgood, a prominent lawyer, fought for equality and eventually became the first African American to be nominated to the Supreme Court. Slaves were bought to the United States, who were later freed by Lincoln during the Civil War which ultimately led to his assassination. Although they were free citizens, African Americans' rights were extremely limited. They could not hold positions of power, go to the same schools as whites, or even vote without being persecuted. The National Association of the Advancement of Colored People was started in order to protect African Americans from the