My Grandfather`s Son, by Clarence Thomas: on Civil Rights
Preferential policies should apply to disadvantaged whites
Preferential policies intended to help blacks adjust to life after segregation were very much on my mind in those days, and now I began to think them through in a more systematic way. Talented blacks stuck on the bottom rung of the socioeconomic ladder
clearly deserved such help, but the ones who most often took advantage of it were considerably higher up on the ladder. Most of the middle-class blacks with who
I discussed these policies argued that all blacks were equally disadvantaged by virtue of their race alone. I thought that was nonsense. Not only were some blacks more economically successful than others, but many light-skinned blacks
believed themselves to be superior to their darker brethren, an attitude that struck me as not much different from white racism. And I also thought the same politics should be applied to similarly disadvantaged whites.
Source: My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas, p. 56
Oct 1, 2007
Affirmative action forever discounts black achievements
Affirmative action (though it wasn't yet called that) had become a fact of like at American college and universities, and before long I realized that those blacks who benefited from it were being judged by a double standard. As much as it stung to be
told that I'd done well in the seminary DESPITE my race, it was far worse to feel that I was now at Yale BECAUSE of it. I sought to vanquish the perception that I was somehow inferior to my white classmates by obtaining special permission to carry more
than the maximum number of credit hours and by taking a rigorous curriculum of courses in such traditional areas as corporate law, bankruptcy, and commercial transactions. How could anyone dare to doubt my abilities if
I excelled in such demanding classes?It was futile for me to suppose that I could escape the stigmatizing effects of racial preference, and I began to fear that it would be used forever after to discount my achievements.
Source: My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas, p. 74-75
Oct 1, 2007
Affirmative action has stigmatizing effects
Affirmative action (though it wasn't yet called that) had become a fact of life at American college and universities, and before long I realized that those blacks who benefited from it were being judged by a double standard. As much as it stung to be
told that I'd done well in the seminary DESPITE my race, it was far worse to feel that I was now at Yale BECAUSE of it. I sought to vanquish the perception that I was somehow inferior to my white classmates by obtaining special permission to carry more
than the maximum number of credit hours and by taking a rigorous curriculum of courses in such traditional areas as corporate law, bankruptcy, and commercial transactions. How could anyone dare to doubt my abilities if
I excelled in such demanding classes?But it was futile for me to suppose that I could escape the stigmatizing effects of racial preference, and I began to fear that it would be used forever after to discount my achievements.
Source: My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas, p. 74-75
Oct 1, 2007
Analyzed and advocated unpopular positions on race
The problem with my "adverse impact" analysis, of course, was that it was of no help to those black students who had already finished law school and now found themselves unable to pass the bar exam. But the adverse-impact theory had its own built-in
problem, which was that its advocates appeared to be suggesting, knowingly or not, that blacks could never catch up with whites. Neither alternative was attractive to me, and I had no easy solution of my own to offer, but at least
I'd thought the problem through for myself instead of jumping to a quick and easy conclusion that might be emotionally satisfying but failed to fit the facts. This, I decided, was the right way to approach any problem that excited my passions, and if
it led me to disagree with the solutions that were generally accepted, or to advocate positions that would make me unpopular--especially when it came to matters of race --then so be it.
Source: My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas, p. 80
Oct 1, 2007
Questions "adverse impact": blacks can catch up with whites
The problem with my analysis, of course, was that it was of no help to those black students who had already finished school and now found themselves unable to pass the bar exam. But the adverse-impact theory had its own built-in problem, which was
that its advocates appeared to be suggesting, knowingly or not, that blacks could never catch up with whites. Neither alternative was attractive to me, and I had no easy solution of my own to offer, but at least I'd thought the problem through for
myself instead of jumping to a quick and easy conclusion that might be emotionally satisfying but failed to fit the facts. This, I decided, was the right way to approach any problem that excited my passions, and if it led me to disagree with the
solutions that were generally accepted, or to advocate positions that would make me unpopular--especially when it came to matters of race --then so be it.
Source: My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas, p. 80
Oct 1, 2007
Black problems should be solved by blacks
The problems faced by blacks in America would take quite some time to solve, and the responsibility for solving them would fall largely on black people themselves. It was far more common in the seventies to argue that whites, having caused our
problems, should be responsible for solving them instantly, but while that approach was good for building political coalitions and soothing guilty consciences, it hadn't done much to improve the daily lives of blacks.
Source: My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas, p.105-106
Oct 1, 2007
Black problems should be solved by blacks
The popular political answers of the day, I saw, had hardened into dogma, making anyone who questioned them a heretic. Having turned my back on religion, I saw no reason to accept mere political opinions as gospel truth.
The problems faced by blacks in America would take quite some time to solve, and the responsibility for solving them would fall largely on black people themselves.
It was far more common in the seventies to argue that whites, having caused our problems, should be responsible for solving them instantly,
but while that approach was good for building political coalitions and soothing guilty consciences, it hadn't done much to improve the daily lives of blacks.
Source: My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas, p.105-106
Oct 1, 2007
Improve black lives, consistent with conservative values
What I cared about more than anything else, I decided, was the condition of blacks across America. The only way I could hope to find personal fulfillment was to spend the rest of my life trying to make their lives better, & to do so in a manner that was
consistent with the way Daddy had raised me. As a young radical, I had found it easy to cloak my belief in the necessity of black self-reliance in the similar-sounding views of Malcolm X & the Black Muslims. It wouldn't be so easy now. To unhesitatingly
proclaim the rightness of Daddy's way of life would be to court ridicule. Though I feared the consequences of saying so publicly, I knew that someday I would have to confront that fear.Sen. Danforth wanted me to come join his staff. I said I was
interested, so long as I wouldn't have to work on civil-rights issues or matters involving race. Though I cared deeply about these issues, I knew I wasn't yet ready to expose myself to the bruising criticism that would follow once my views became known.
Source: My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas, p.118-119
Oct 1, 2007
Censure Bob Jones University for interracial dating ban
Bob Jones University was a Christian college and seminary in South Carolina that maintained a number of racially discriminatory policies, including a ban on interracial dating among its students. The Internal Revenue Service revoked the university's
tax-exempt status because of these policies. I supported the original IRS decision and was shocked when the Justice Department backed down and let the university off the legal hook.I came close to resigning from the Department of Education over the
Bob Jones case. The only reason I stayed was because I still believed in the Reagan administration's commitment to limiting the role of the federal government in the lives of blacks (and everyone else). I feared that the unintended effects of
social-engineering policies like urban renewal would be at least as bad as the problems themselves. Above all I wanted to do what I could to keep historically black colleges from being thoughtlessly swept away in the rush toward integration.
Source: My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas, p.146-147
Oct 1, 2007
EEOC had difficulty enforcing equal opportunity laws
EEOC had great difficulty in enforcing the equal-opportunity laws. At EEOC, I inherited a major case involving General Motors. The GM settlement included a payment of more than $40 million, of which more than $10 million was to be distributed to various
colleges for permanent endowments to assist deserving students, preferably minority and female employees of GM. Many endowments were established at historically black colleges and universities.My main quarrel with the Reagan administration as that
I thought it needed a POSITIVE civil-rights agenda, instead of merely railing against quotas and affirmative action. This was my top priority at EEOC: to do what I could to make things better for ordinary people. I regarded the General
Motors settlement as a prime example of what I thought the EEOC ought to be doing.
Toughening EEOC's approach to enforcement, improving its management, and automating its data processing were our main priorities at EEOC--and our biggest successes.
Source: My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir by Clarence Thomas, p.153-187
Oct 1, 2007
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