Racism Against Justice Clarence Thomas

Essay by robstubs15College, UndergraduateA-, March 2007

download word file, 5 pages 0.0

Racism is a controversial issue that often plays the central role in many conflicts. Racism is the intentional or unintentional use of power to isolate, separate and exploit others. I believe racism and racial stereotyping played an important role in Justice Clarence Thomas's life. He has achieved a lot through his life to get where he is now.

Clarence Thomas was born June 23, 1948, in Pin Point, Georgia. Clarence was raised by his maternal grandparents in Savannah, Georgia. His grandfather was determined to see that he received an education. He attended both all Black schools and integrated Catholic schools. He intended to enter the priesthood, but left after he encountered racist issues.

He earned a B.A. from Holy Cross College and his J. D. from Yale Law School in 1971. After law school he became an assistant attorney general for the State of Missouri from 1974 to 1977.

Thomas worked briefly at Monsanto Company in St. Louis and he also worked as a legal assistant for Senator John C. Danforth. Thomas served as an assistant secretary for civil rights with the Department of Education from 1981 to 1982 before moving on to chair the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission until 1990. He was then appointed to the Supreme Court in 1991, becoming the second African American to serve as an Associate Justice on the Court. His nomination was ratified by a vote of 52 to 48.

This was one of the closest margins in the history of the Supreme Court. This was because of the confirmation hearings. President Bush's nomination of Clarence Thomas was instantly controversial. Many African-American and Civil Rights organizations, including the NAACP, the National Bar Association, and the Urban League, opposed the Thomas nomination. These organizations feared that Thomas's conservative stance on issues such as...