Thomas Issues His Cultural Ruling

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas made a rare public appearance Thursday, speaking at the Library of Congress. His remarks yielded some noteworthy fruit. He opined, “At some point, we’re going to be fatigued with everybody being the victim.” Thomas went on to describe a recent encounter he had with a young black woman in Kansas who exclaimed to him that she was “really tired of having to play the role of being black.” She added that she “just want[ed] to go to school.”

Thomas then relayed the wisdom he received from the most influential person in his life — his grandfather, who took in Thomas and his brother when his single mother was unable to care for him. Thomas described his grandfather as a “hero” and “the single greatest human being I’ve ever met.” From him Thomas learned to “always … play the hand you’re dealt. If you’re dealt a bad hand, you still have to play it.” The future justice learned that there was no room for complaining, epitomized by one of his grandfather’s most regularly voiced refrains — “Old Man Can’t is dead. I helped bury him.”

Reflecting on his own experience, Thomas worried that the over-politicization of the judicial confirmation process will dissuade good people from serving.

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