Clarence Thomas, The Second African American U.s. Supreme Judge

Clarence Thomas was born June 23, 1948 in Pinpoint, near Savannah, Gerorgia, U.S. Thomas’s father abandoned the family he was two years old. After the family home was destroyed by fire, his mother, a maid, remarried and Thomas and his brother were sent to live with their grandfather when he was seven years old.

Thomas was educated in Savannah, Georgia at an all-African American Roman Catholic primary school run by white nuns. He then went to-school seminary where he graduated the only Africa American in his class. He then went to the Immaculate Conception Abbey as a freshman, but transferred to Holy Cross College in Worcester, Massachusetts and graduated with a B.A. In 1971.

In 1974 he received his law degree from Yale University.

Thomas was assistant attorney general in Missouri from 1974 to 1977 and a lawyer with the Monsanto Company from 1977 to 1979, and a legislative assistant to Republican Senator John C. Danforth of Missouri in 1979 to 1981.

Thomas served as assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Education from 1981 to 1982 during the Ronald Reagan and George Bush administrations. He was chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) from 1982 to 1990 and judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal District in Washington, D.C. From 1990 to 1991, an appointed position by Bush.

When Thurgood Marshall retired Bush under political pressure to appoint another African American replaced him with a nomination who had serviced under Republican senators and presidents, Clarence Thomas was the obvious choice.

His nomination met with controversy for several reasons, too little experience as a judge, produced little judicial scholarship and he refused to put his position on the abortion issue. Easy confirmation would have occurred except a former aide came forward at this time and accused him of sexual harassment, this took over the latter stages of the hearings. Anita Hill, an African American law professor and his aide who had worked for him at the EEOC and the Department of Education,

claimed Thomas made inappropriate sexual inuendos to her in attempts to seduce her. He denied the charge and accused the Senate Judiciary Committee of manufacturing a, ‘high-tech lynching. This led to a divided Senate who narrowly confirmed his nomination vote of 52 to 48.

The controversy that surrounded Thomas’ appointment dissipiated shortly after he joined the bench, he will always be measured against his predecessor. Thomas and Marshall were stark contrasts and throughout much of his career he worked against many of the causes Marshall championed.

As an extremely reliable conservative appointed by Republican presidents, Thomas followed a predictable pattern in his thinking–conservative, restrained and suspicious how far the federal government can reach into state and local politics.