From a Times article about troubles afflicting Howard University: "Founded soon after the Civil War, Howard has produced a long string of prominent alumni, including Toni Morrison, Vernon Jordan and Justice Thurgood Marshall of the Supreme Court."
Some Times editor or reporter apparently made a judgment that the average Times reader knows who Toni Morrison and Vernon Jordan are, but needs an explanation about who Thurgood Marshall was. It seems to me the paper should either explain them all or leave them all unexplained. If the alumni are indeed "prominent," as the Times claims they are — and as, in fact, they are — no explanation is necessary. In any event Marshall's greatness stems as much from his service as chief counsel of the NAACP as it did from his tenure on the high court.
There are plenty of Times I wish the Times gave me more context (anything involving "Breaking Bad" or "Twerking") but this was a case where the explanation felt patronizing, as if the Times thinks its readers are ignorant of American history.