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
writing fighting thinking
I think segregation is bad, I think it's wrong, it's immoral. I'd fight against it with every breath in my body, but you don't need to sit next to a white person to learn how to read and write. The NAACP needs to say that.
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.
difference hard life lived order respond work
There's a difference between someone who's 'harsh' and someone who is 'hard.' Life was hard. You lived in the South, as my grandparents did, and you had to survive. That is hard. In order to respond to that, he had to become a hard man, with very hard rules, very hard discipline for himself, very hard days, hard work, et cetera.
rights civil-rights civil-rights-act
We've talked more about civil rights after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 than we talked about it before 1964.
doe might vests
The Constitution does not vest in Congress the authority to protect society from every bad act that might befall it....[I]f followed to its logical extreme, [this approach] would result in an unwarranted expansion of federal power.
school mean black
[T]he courts are so willing to assume that anything that is predominantly black must be inferior.... The mere fact that a school is black does not mean that it is the product of an unconstitutional violation.
race humanity denial
To define each of us by our race is nothing short of a denial of our humanity.
groups get-away sympathetic
I was sympathetic to virtually all groups that wanted to get away from the old system.
action conversation affirmative
So many of our conversations (about affirmative action) have been dishonest
courage truth justice
A good argument diluted to avoid criticism is not nearly as good as the undiluted argument, because we best arrive at truth through a process of honest and vigorous debate. Arguments should not sneak around in disguise, as if dissent were somehow sinister... For it is bravery that is required to secure freedom.
thinking risk
I do think that our freedoms are at risk.
thinking people miracle
I have to admit that I'm one of those people that thinks the dishwasher is a miracle.
religious proud environment
I grew up in a religious environment, and I'm proud of it.