Clarence Thomas Accomplishments

The 14th Chief Justice of the U.S Supreme Court, Earl Warren changed the course the nation through landmark decisions that reflected progressive thinking. With Warren in charge, the Court brought about a significant amount of social change, rooted in establishing racial equality and protecting civil liberties. Despite being nominated on the basis of his conservative governorship, Earl Warren’s s nomination for Chief Justice gave him a new perspective, especially on crime. He now viewed the Court as a protector of the public, and with astounding leadership brought the Court to a consensus in many landmark decisions such as Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Mapp v. Ohio (1961), and Gideon v. Wainwright (1963).

Another evident Court case Thomas contributed to was Utah Highway Patrol Association v. American Atheists. The issue was when should the Establishment Clause test be applied when analyzing passive public displays, for example does the clause forbid roadside memorial crosses marking the site of death for state highways troopers who were killed in the line of duty. It was narrowly decided that the cross displays were an unconstitutional violation of the Clause. Thomas wrote a nineteen page dissent

Thurgood was appointed as the U.S second Circuit in 1961 for four years none of Marshall’s decision were overturned by the Supreme Court. Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Thurgood as the first black U.S solicitor general. Marshall won 14 of the 19 cases he argued before the Supreme Court for two years as solicitor.

After graduating in 1926, Thurgood attended Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. This was a historically black college. After graduating, with honors, from Lincoln, in 1930, he applied to the University of Maryland Law School. He was overqualified with his academics, but was turned away because of his race. This experience with discrimination in education stayed with Marshall and helped determine his career. Insted of Maryland, Thurgood attended Howard University in Washington

Thurgood went to the non white high school in Baltimore. He was a mischievous but a great student. Whenever he got in trouble in school, his principal made him go to the basement of the school and memorize parts of the US constitution. He memorized the

Thurgood Marshall is a man that went to court for colored kids and white kids to got to the same school. He went to court in October 1967 and won the trial in 1991.

Thomas believed that blacks were defeating the purpose that they had worked so hard in the past decades to gain. By self-segregating "blacks were turning away from the real world." And so, rather than separating himself from the Black Student Union and their personal corridor, he made a compromise by deciding to live in the corridor, with his white roommate. (Thomas 117, Foskett 99-102) 

Thomas was involved in the political scene at a very early age. After just two short years in Washington, Thomas began working in President Reagan’s administration. Thomas was a rarity in Washington. In the Washington Post Thomas was introduced to the public. The article read, “He is one of the black people now on center stage in American politics: he is a republican, a long-time supporter of Ronald Reagan, opposed to the minimum wage law, rent control, busing and affirmative action.” (Foskett 152) 

For eight-years Thomas served on the Equal Employment Opportunity Committee under Ronald Reagan. (Foskett 161-2) 

On June 30, 1991 President Bush nominated Thomas to the Supreme Court. Similar to all nominees Thomas was sure to be asked many difficult and personal questions. And being a black conservative, and to many liberals and democrats, viewed as a traitor, passing his confirmation hearings and gaining approval from the senate would be no easy task. If that weren’t enough, Anita Hill made matters far more difficult when she accused Thomas of sexual harassment, ten

A very intelligent strong-minded man argued this case in 1954. According to UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History, Thurgood Marshall was born on July 2, 1908. He was raised in a two

The prologue of Showdown: Thurgood Marshall and the Supreme Court Nomination That changed America by Wil Haygood, discusses President Lyndon Johnson’s nomination of Thurgood Marshall, which was described as putting white supremacy in a coffin. Showdown describes the process that Thurgood Marshall took before and after his Supreme Court nomination. Thurgood Marshall was a lawyer who was very successful in arguing before the Supreme Court. Marshall transformed the world of African Americans to opportunities. The achievements of Brown v. Board of Education, Shelley v. Kraemer, and other cases wouldn’t have been possible without Marshall and the NAACP, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The Brown v. Board of Education

Judge Clarence Thomas desire to keep the laws the unchanged in Judicial Restraint can also be seen in his deciding votes in his past cases. In addition, to asking minimal questions Judge Thomas is stern in his reason to keep laws consistent. For example in the Supreme Court case Good News Club v. Milford Central School, Judge Thomas ruled in favor of the club and that the school district violated the First Amendment rights of free speech and gathering, even though it was religious. This shows his devotion to the constitution and his desire to not stray away from it. As a matter of fact, in his conservative vote of the case Gonzales v. Raich, Judge Thomas argued that when no direct connection could be made to commerce, congressional regulation

Clarence Thomas was born on June 23, 1948 in Pin Point, Georgia, growing up in a humble background, with only a mother to care for him and his brother and sister, eventually being sent to live in Savannah, Georgia with their grandparents. Justice Thomas originally wanted a career as a Catholic priest, but with the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King., Justice Thomas was perplexed to change his career path to become a lawyer and fight for civil rights. Moreover, Justice Thomas decided to attended Yale University and enter a legal career. In 1981 he was appointed Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education one year later, Justice Thomas was appointed Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity

Oliver Brown, an African-American parent residing in Topeka, Kansas, sent his daughter Linda Brown to an all-white school. The school rejected Linda because of her skin color so Oliver Brown filed a class action suit against the school. It was originally ruled in favor of the Topeka Board of Education but appealed to the Supreme Court in 1954. The NAACP essentially combined this suit with several other similar suits filed against their respective all-white schools in Delaware, South Carolina, Virginia, and South Carolina and represented the black students in the Supreme Court case. Thurgood Marshall, who later became the first African-American to serve as a Supreme Court associate justice, was the lead attorney for the plaintiffs. The Fourteenth

In conclusion, despite his obstacles and constant criticism for his lack of questioning in oral arguments, he has built a reputation as being one of the most conservative justices. Clarence Thomas has now severed 24 years as a justice on the United States Supreme Court and shows no signs of retiring ( Chicago-Kent College of Law at Illinois Tech,

There are three women on the Supreme Court, one of whom is Latina, and there is one black justice serving on the Supreme Court (Brown, 2016). This is a major issue. The United States, the “melting pot”, has an extreme lack of diversity in their court system. This is an issue that affects several aspects of society. Decisions made by judges will affect the lives of men, women, and their families. The decisions made by judges can also create law. Unlike political officials, the people do not always have the power to vote judges into their positions. Instead, the people hope that their peers with the power to affect the system choose a candidate that will fight for them. Often times, this does not happen.

On the thirteenth of October I was lucky enough to be able to view the movie Marshall with my African American studies class. I watched the movie in the Amc Loews movie theatre The movie was based on one of the many court cases that Thurgood was apart of. The movie gave a realistic depiction of what it was like during Thurgood’s time. It is important to note that the movie only showed one case that Thurgood carried out and this case was chosen not only because he won it but also because it showed how hard it was for him to speak out for the injustices going on at the time. Following the movie I was honored by the appearance of Rahsaan Hall who made a visit to my African American studies class to discuss not only his own life but also Thurgood Marshall, his background of being a lawyer made him familiar with Thurgood’s work. He studied went much farther than the movie and was able to confirm that the movie gave an accurate depiction of Thurgood Marshall. Today Hall much works for the Racial justice Program for the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts which address racial injustices much like Thurgood Marshall. He