Essay On Clarence Thomas

Trevor Novak

3/12/2014

Research Paper

Clarence Thomas was a judge and lawyer, and it was very difficult for him to become both of these. Clarence is still important today because he is one of the Supreme Court Judges and is the second black judge to ever be elected judge.

Clarence Thomas was born June 23, 1948. He was not born in a hospital, but at home by a mid-wife. Clarence was only two when his dad left him and divorced his mom, Leola Thomas. Leola was only eighteen when Clarence was born. When his dad left, his mom took him, his older sister, and his younger brother from Pin Point, Georgia to Savannah, Georgia. His mother sent him to his grandfathers which is why he likes his grandfather so much today. His grandfather taught him to work hard and make something of himself. “I put my grandfather up there so he would be looking down at me while I’m working.” (Source #4) Clarence has a bronze statue of his grandfather Myers Anderson in his office at the Supreme Court and the statue looks down on Clarence while he works at his desk to remind him to keep working hard. Clarence’s grandfather also wanted him to become a priest. Clarence grew up in a community without paved roads or a sewage system. One time, Clarence came home with his face bloody. His mom asked what happened and he said that some kids jumped on him and beat him up while a teacher watched.

Clarence attended St. Benedict’s School in Savannah, which was a school for black boys and was run by Franciscan nuns. Clarence respected the sometime, harsh discipline from the priests and nuns because, he recalled, “It was a world of order, and that’s exactly what we needed, because there was chaos all around us.” (Source #4) He liked the nuns and pr...

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...larence Thomas would be involved with many cases such as no prayers at high school graduations. In another case, the Court ruled that race could not be the reason in choosing a jury. The part of his job that Clarence enjoyed the most was being able to talk to students from the youngest all the way up to college Seniors.

Clarence Thomas grew up in a very small town and came from a poor family and neighborhood. He learned early on from his grandfather that he would have to work hard to get somewhere in life and that things are never given to you. Hard work was reinforced by the nuns and in the Catholic schools in Savannah where Clarence became a good student and athlete. He also worked hard to graduate from school and become an attorney. Later, he would apply everything he learned to become the second black judge ever to be elected on the Supreme Court.