Wil Haygood ’76 to offer insight into Thurgood Marshall for PBS documentary
Boadway Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence wrote acclaimed biography on first Black Supreme Court justice
Published
Miami University alumnus Wil Haygood ’76 will be featured in the PBS documentary, “Becoming Thurgood: America’s Social Architect,” detailing the life of Thurgood Marshall, the first Black justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Haygood, an acclaimed author and journalist, is the Boadway Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence for Miami’s Department of Media, Journalism, and Film. The documentary debuts on Sept. 9.
Marshall served on the Supreme Court from 1967-1991. Haygood penned a critically acclaimed biography on the justice, “Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination that Changed America.” Haygood’s other books include “The Butler,” which was turned into an award-winning motion picture; “Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson;” and “In Black and White: the Life of Sammy Davis Jr.”
Haygood’s career as a journalist included time at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Boston Globe, and Washington Post. He has been a Pulitzer Prize finalist, received the Ella Baker Social Justice Award in 2013, the Miami University President’s Medal in 2018, the Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award in 2022, and the Freedom Summer of ’64 Award in 2023.
In November 2023, Haygood announced Miami would receive the Wil Haygood Collection, which contains thousands of items and documents from his storied career.
Recent articles on Haygood’s upcoming appearance in the PBS documentary have been published in the Dayton Daily News and the Oxford Free Press. “Becoming Thurgood” premieres at 10 p.m. on Sept. 9 and can also be viewed on the PBS app and website.
Haygood, an acclaimed author and journalist, is the Boadway Distinguished Scholar-in-Residence for Miami’s Department of Media, Journalism, and Film. The documentary debuts on Sept. 9.
Marshall served on the Supreme Court from 1967-1991. Haygood penned a critically acclaimed biography on the justice, “Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination that Changed America.” Haygood’s other books include “The Butler,” which was turned into an award-winning motion picture; “Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson;” and “In Black and White: the Life of Sammy Davis Jr.”
Haygood’s career as a journalist included time at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Boston Globe, and Washington Post. He has been a Pulitzer Prize finalist, received the Ella Baker Social Justice Award in 2013, the Miami University President’s Medal in 2018, the Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award in 2022, and the Freedom Summer of ’64 Award in 2023.
In November 2023, Haygood announced Miami would receive the Wil Haygood Collection, which contains thousands of items and documents from his storied career.
Recent articles on Haygood’s upcoming appearance in the PBS documentary have been published in the Dayton Daily News and the Oxford Free Press. “Becoming Thurgood” premieres at 10 p.m. on Sept. 9 and can also be viewed on the PBS app and website.
Established in 1809, Miami University is located in Oxford, Ohio, with regional campuses in Hamilton and Middletown, a learning center in West Chester, and a European study center in Luxembourg.
