The University of Maryland announced this month that it will be naming its new School of Public Policy building after civil rights lawyer and former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, honoring his role in breaking down barriers for Black and African-American students.

Marshall, a Baltimore native, applied to the University of Maryland Law School in 1930 but was denied admission because he was Black. After graduating from Howard University Law School, Marshall joined the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. Marshall’s first major court case came in 1933, when he successfully sued the University of Maryland to admit a young African American Amherst University graduate named Donald Gaines Murray.

“Thurgood Marshall was a trailblazer for justice and a pioneer as the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court,” said University President Darryll J. Pines in a press release. “He fought for landmark civil rights cases including access to the university by all of its citizens. Assigning his name to the School of Public Policy building honors his contributions to our university, state and nation.”

The 77,000-square-foot building, which opened in the fall, features state-of-the-art teaching and collaborative spaces for students, faculty and staff.

The naming celebration is scheduled for the end of this month.