Strom Thurmond did not challenge the status quo.
Thurgood Marshall argued cases like Brown v. The Board of Education before the US Supreme Court, and later (in 1967) became a Supreme Court justice -- the first African-American justice to serve on the court.
As president, Harry Truman signed Executive Order 9981, which abolished racial segregation in the US military.
Jackie Robinson was the first black player to play in Major League Baseball.
Strom Thurmond was a US Senator from South Carolina who sought to protect the status quo against the civil rights movement.
