Myra Jolivet

Is Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas the
far right’s gift that keeps on giving?

A gift consists not in what is done or given,
but in the intention of the giver or doer. ~ Seneca

For who knows how long, Justice Clarence Thomas has been heavily gifted by right wing, Nazi memorabilia-collecting, Harlan Crow. The Republican megadonor has lavished Thomas and his wife with yacht cruises, art, and vacations that the justice failed to disclose. Unfortunately, that is not new. For his entire public career, Thomas has shown the world who he is, it’s time to believe him.

In a recent editorial, the Philadelphia Inquirer writes, “With public trust in the U.S. Supreme Court fading, the justices should follow the same ethical standards required of lower-court judges.”

Believe it or not, he didn’t start this way

A descendant of enslaved people, Clarence Thomas was born in 1948 in a small, Black community outside of Savannah, Georgia. His father abandoned the family when Thomas was two years old, and his mother sometimes worked for pennies as a domestic worker.

At the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts Thomas co-founded the Black Student Union and protested when Black students were the only ones disciplined for certain violations. Back then, he was also a follower of the teachings of Malcolm X.

In an interview about the transformation of Thomas, Political scientist Corey Robin told ABC RN News that Yale Law School is where Thomas developed an unexpected close friendship with John Bolton, who later became a Trump appointee, and began to shift to more conservative beliefs.

Hypocrisy and Impropriety

Despite appointment as the second Black American to the Supreme Court . . . to turn a phrase, Thomas is no Thurgood Marshall.

The NAACP opposed his appointment citing his "inconsistent views" on civil rights issues, his opposition to affirmative action, his conduct as head of the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights, and as chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They concluded that Judge Thomas's confirmation “would be inimical to the best interests of African Americans."

In his article for the Center for American Progress, Billy Corriher called Clarence Thomas the Anti-Thurgood Marshall.

He wrote, “With his recent comparison of affirmative action to slavery, Justice Clarence Thomas appears determined to undo the civil-rights and equal justice accomplishments of his predecessor, Justice Thurgood Marshall.”

While at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Thomas limited class action lawsuits filed to fight discrimination. And in 2013, he voted to strike a Voting Rights Act system created as protection against voter’s rights violations and suppression tactics. (Shelby County vs Holder)

In 2011, the advocacy group, Common Cause, reported that Justice Thomas failed to disclose $686,589 in income his wife earned from The Heritage Foundation. Claiming it was "inadvertently omitted due to a misunderstanding of the filing instructions."

Clarence Thomas transformed from fighter of injustice to comforter of racists by normalizing bigotry, and challenging efforts to gain equity and preserve basic human rights. And while he professes his right to receive gifts, we are left to wonder at what cost.