The annual award is named after Marshall, the first African-American appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967.

Koskoff, a principal with Koskoff Koskoff & Bieder, has defended the Black Panthers in a landmark case and won lawsuits against the cities of Bridgeport and New Haven for their discriminatory hiring practices.

As a storyteller and screenwriter, Koskoff co-wrote the screenplay for “Marshall,” last year’s critically acclaimed film about the time Thurgood Marshall came to Connecticut to defend a black man in a racially charged case in 1941.

“[Marshall] chose to risk his life every day and fight for justice,” Koskoff said. “That’s what a lawyer is, that’s what a trial lawyer does. They go and they fight for justice.”

Isa Mujahid and Camelle Scott-Mujahid, founders and directors of CTCORE-Organize Now!, received the Community Service Award from the Black Law Students Association.

School of Law

“We’re especially moved to be receiving this award from young, black leaders,” Scott-Mujahid said. “It’s really you all who are going to be the future of this movement and the future of this world. I am so inspired by this generation.”

“We knew community-building was really going to be the key to our liberation,” Scott-Mujahid said. “We had seen [institutional racism] in action so many times over the last couple of years, both as we challenged police departments, city governments and state leaders.”

The Black Law Students Association at Quinnipiac is a vibrant, socially active group with nearly 50 members. Previous winners of the Thurgood Marshall Award include Hillary Rodham Clinton, Johnny Cochran, Carlotta Walls LaNier of the Little Rock Nine and Freedom Rider Lula White.