Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomasis an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Thomas succeeded Thurgood Marshall and is the second African American to serve on the court...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionSupreme Court Justice
Date of Birth23 June 1948
CityPin Point, GA
CountryUnited States of America
suddenly
My grandparents had died in 1983, and suddenly my brother is out jogging before Mass, and he dies.
american-judge harm protect role state strongly undo
The state can't undo the harm that was done, but I feel very strongly that if there is any role for the state, it is to protect us from others.
committee contact dean member police promotions reach rocky student supposed
She was a student member of the promotions committee for Rocky Dailey. I was supposed to get in contact with her but couldn't reach her. The police told the dean who told me that she had just died.
american-judge economics free prevent society somebody
When you prevent somebody from participating in our free society and the economics of our free society, I have some real problems.
cannot certainly decision legal necessary performing texas
Without performing legal acrobatics, I cannot make the instruction confusing. And I certainly cannot do the contortions necessary to find the Texas appellate court's decision 'objectively unreasonable.
deeply dignity friend good man miss strength
We will miss him deeply as a friend and as a colleague. He was a good man who epitomized fairness, dignity and strength of character.
There is some misunderstanding. We do not look any place. We do not recruit. We are passive. We look at what comes to us.
gone ninth taught victims
When I went into the seminary, I was one of those victims of New Math and had not had Algebra I and had no idea what we were doing in New Math in the ninth grade. But when I went into the seminary, they had gone the traditional route and taught first-year algebra.
people
There are so many people who have this idea of who I am because I'm black.
I went into the seminary when I was 16.
affected people self-esteem
I hear people say it affected your self-esteem to be segregated. It never affected mine.
cease people
It would seem that some black people want to say that when you, as a black, become successful, you cease to be black. That's ridiculous.
If I were a black liberal, I would be hailed, I guess. But I'm not. I mean, I think for myself. I want to make my own decisions.
decided sometime work
My grandfather, as I said, was industrious. He'd had a variety of jobs and decided sometime in the 1940s that he would never work for anyone. He was also a very independent man.