Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site Establishment Act of 2025

This bill would create the Justice Thurgood Marshall National Historic Site in Baltimore, centered on his former elementary school (Public School 103) at 1315 Division Street. The goal is to preserve and share Marshall’s life and civil rights work, including his role in ending school segregation and serving on the Supreme Court. The site would be part of the National Park System as an “affiliated area,” and a prior National Park Service study found the school meets national standards for significance and suitability.

The school would stay owned and run by the local nonprofit that operates it as a museum. The National Park Service could help through agreements, technical assistance, and support for things like marketing, signs, interpretation, and preservation. However, the federal government would not take ownership or assume full operating costs. Congress could provide funding as needed. The site’s boundary follows a map dated September 2024.

• Who is affected: Visitors, students, and the Baltimore community; the Beloved Community Services Corporation; the National Park Service.
• What changes: The school becomes a national historic site (as an affiliated area); NPS can assist by agreement; no federal takeover of the property or day-to-day costs; funding may be provided to carry out the Act.
• When: The boundary is based on a map dated September 2024; the NPS study supporting the site was authorized in 2019 and sent to Congress in 2023.