Supreme Justice Clarence Thomas Born June 23, 1948 in Pin Point near Savannah, Georgia, the second of three children to M.C. Thomas and Leola Williams was named Clarence Thomas. He was a descendant of freed slaves and his family spoke Gullah as a first language. Thomas primarily was raised by his grandfather, Myers Anderson around the age of nine after his mother and siblings were displaced due to a house fire. Raised Roman Catholic, he greatly contemplated going into priesthood as a youth. The first in his family to attend college, he graduated from Holy Cross in 1971 and from Yale Law School in 1974. Looking up to his grandfather, Thomas considered him the greatest man he ever knew. Anderson distilled into Thomas the importance of hard
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Thomas began working under State Attorney General John Danforth, whom Thomas met while at Yale Law School. As a member of Danforth’s staff, Thomas was the only African American. Notably, Thomas prosecuted criminal and civil cases for the State of Missouri. Looking back Thomas considers working for Danforth as an Assistant Attorney General as the best job he ever had. Becoming a corporate lawyer for Monsanto Company from 1977 to 1979 after Danforth was elected to the U.S. Senate.
EEOC Chairman
Moving to Washington, D.C. Thomas again worked for Danforth from 1979 to 1981 as Legislative Assistant. Serving the Senate Commerce Committee Thomas received many accolades from President Reagan, leading him to become the Chairman of the US Equal Opportunity Commission. Holding this position from 1982 to 1990 and till this date Thomas is the longest serving Chairman of the agency. While in the position of Chairman, Thomas disfavored the normal class action filing of discrimination lawsuits preferring claims to be filed individually. Thomas stated in a 1987 Yale Law Review article, “I continue to believe that distributing opportunities on the basis of race or gender, whoever the beneficiaries, turns the law against employment discrimination on its head. Class preferences are an affront to the rights and dignity of …show more content…
Thomas supports the idea of limiting federal government and allowing states more regulating power. Justice Thomas opposes racial classification of any kind especially affirmative action. Justice Thomas stated in the case Adarand Constructors v. Pena:
"I believe that there is a 'moral [and] constitutional equivalence,' between laws designed to subjugate a race and those that distribute benefits on the basis of race in order to foster some current notion of equality. . . . That these programs may have been motivated, in part, by good intentions cannot provide refuge from the principle that under our Constitution, the government may not make distinctions on the basis of race."
Justice Thomas is an essentially unique justice being the Supreme Court’s only Southerner and only African American justice. Although true to his conservative views is willing to overturn federal laws. Thomas has surprised many with decisions dissenting landmark cases upholding the Affordable Care Act, giving gay couples the rights to get married and rejecting that the state of Texas could reject specialty license plate featuring an image of the Confederate
Thomas began working under State Attorney General John Danforth, whom Thomas met while at Yale Law School. As a member of Danforth’s staff, Thomas was the only African American. Notably, Thomas prosecuted criminal and civil cases for the State of Missouri. Looking back Thomas considers working for Danforth as an Assistant Attorney General as the best job he ever had. Becoming a corporate lawyer for Monsanto Company from 1977 to 1979 after Danforth was elected to the U.S. Senate.
EEOC Chairman
Moving to Washington, D.C. Thomas again worked for Danforth from 1979 to 1981 as Legislative Assistant. Serving the Senate Commerce Committee Thomas received many accolades from President Reagan, leading him to become the Chairman of the US Equal Opportunity Commission. Holding this position from 1982 to 1990 and till this date Thomas is the longest serving Chairman of the agency. While in the position of Chairman, Thomas disfavored the normal class action filing of discrimination lawsuits preferring claims to be filed individually. Thomas stated in a 1987 Yale Law Review article, “I continue to believe that distributing opportunities on the basis of race or gender, whoever the beneficiaries, turns the law against employment discrimination on its head. Class preferences are an affront to the rights and dignity of …show more content…
Thomas supports the idea of limiting federal government and allowing states more regulating power. Justice Thomas opposes racial classification of any kind especially affirmative action. Justice Thomas stated in the case Adarand Constructors v. Pena:
"I believe that there is a 'moral [and] constitutional equivalence,' between laws designed to subjugate a race and those that distribute benefits on the basis of race in order to foster some current notion of equality. . . . That these programs may have been motivated, in part, by good intentions cannot provide refuge from the principle that under our Constitution, the government may not make distinctions on the basis of race."
Justice Thomas is an essentially unique justice being the Supreme Court’s only Southerner and only African American justice. Although true to his conservative views is willing to overturn federal laws. Thomas has surprised many with decisions dissenting landmark cases upholding the Affordable Care Act, giving gay couples the rights to get married and rejecting that the state of Texas could reject specialty license plate featuring an image of the Confederate