Clarence Thomas
Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is the Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.[2] Thomas has been a Justice since 1991. He is the second African American to serve on the court, after Thurgood Marshall. During his confirmation process, Professor Anita Hill accused Thomas of sexual harassment. Regardless, Thomas was confirmed in October 1991.
Early life
Clarence Thomas was born in Pin Point, Georgia.[3] His father left his family when he was only two years old.[4] He did not meet his son Clarence again until Clarence was nine years old.[5] This left his mother, Leola Anderson, to take care of the family.
Clarence and his brother were sent to live with his mother's parents in Savannah, Georgia.[6] His grandfather wanted him to become a priest. Thomas was sent to St. John Vianney Minor Seminary, an all-white boarding school near Savannah.[3] In 1968 he transferred to the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts.[7] He gave up all ideas of becoming a priest after the death of Martin Luther King Jr.. Thomas then obtained a law degree at Yale University.[7]
Career
After Yale he returned to Missouri and worked for State Attorney General, John Danforth.[3] in 1977 Danforth was elected to the U.S. Senate. Thomas became a corporate lawyer for the Monsanto Company. Two years later he became Danforth's legislative aide in Washington, D.C..[3] President Ronald Reagan offered Thomas a job as the assistant secretary for civil rights in the U.S. Department of Education.[3] He then became the chairman of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Thomas was appointed to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in 1990 by President George H. W. Bush.[3] In 1991, Thurgood Marshall retired from the Supreme Court. Bush nominated Thomas to replace him.[3]
Supreme Court
He had a hard time getting approved so that he could become a Supreme Court justice. This was partly because one of his former employees, Anita Hill, claimed that he sexually harassed her.[8] Thomas said that was not true. The Senate confirmed his nomination by a vote of 52-48. All Republicans, except Bob Packwood of Oregon and James Jeffords of Vermont, voted for confirmation.[9]
Clarence Thomas Media
- 1967 Clarence Thomas yearbook portrait (cropped).jpg
Thomas in 1967, pictured in his high school yearbook
- HC Dinand Library 1.'23.jpg
Dinand Library at the College of the Holy Cross, where Thomas studied as an undergraduate[10]
Thomas is sworn in as Assistant Secretary of Education for the Office for Civil Rights in 1981.
Thomas in his office on May 18, 1981
- Ronald Reagan and Clarence Thomas in 1986.jpg
President Ronald Reagan Farewell Photo Op. with Clarence Thomas of the EEOC, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in oval office. 6/23/86.
- Thurgood-marshall-2.jpg
Thurgood Marshall
- Anita Hill testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee (cropped).jpg
Anita Hill testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee during Clarence Thomas's Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
- Virginia Thomas.JPG
Thomas was sworn in as a member of the U.S. Supreme Court by Justice Byron White on October 23, 1991. His wife, Virginia Thomas, looks on in the foreground.
Official portrait of Justice Clarence Thomas
- Supreme Court US 2006.jpg
The current United States Supreme Court, the highest court in the United States, in 2006. Top row (left to right): Associate Justice
References
- ↑ Miller, Anita (2005). The Complete Transcripts of the Clarence Thomas - Anita Hill Hearings: October 11, 12, 13, 1991. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-0-89733-408-2.
- ↑ Thomas, Clarence, My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir, HarperCollins Publishers New York, New York, 2007, page 3
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "Clarence Thomas". The Oyez Project at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ↑ Hall, Timothy L., Supreme Court Justices: A Biographical Dictionary, Facts on File, Inc., New York, New York, page 421
- ↑ Thomas, Clarence, My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir, HarperCollins Publishers New York, New York, 2007, page 1
- ↑ "Clarence Thomas Biography". Bio. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Alumni Success Stories". College of the Holy Cross. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ↑ Newcomb, Horace editor Encyclopedia of Television Second Edition Volume 1 Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers Chicago 2004 page 1092
- ↑ Horvitz, Paul F. (16 October 1991). "Senate Confirms Thomas, 52-48, Following a Final, Bitter Debate". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ↑ Brady 2012, p. 92, 94.