7 Quotes & Sayings By Clarence Thomas

Clarence Thomas is the second African-American male to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Clarence Thomas, a native and lifelong resident of the United States, was born in Pin Point, Georgia on October 24, 1948. He earned a Bachelor of Science in engineering from Virginia Tech in 1971, a Master of Arts in educational administration from George Mason University in 1974, and a Doctorate in law from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1978. In 1981 he married Virginia Miers, who has been his partner since that time Read more

In 1982 he began working as a clerk for Judge J. Skelly Wright of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

He was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals by President Reagan in July 1987 and confirmed by the Senate in August 1988.

1
My grandfather was a man, when he talked about freedom, his attitude was really interesting. His view was that you had obligations or you had responsibilities, and when you fulfilled those obligations or responsibilities, that then gave you the liberty to do other things. Clarence Thomas
2
Oh, I don't think Tom Sowell would tell anybody to join the administration. That's not his style. But I think his attitude has always been if it had to be done he'd prefer me to do it than somebody else. Clarence Thomas
3
There's a difference between someone who's 'harsh' and someone who is 'hard.' Life was hard. You lived in the South, as my grandparents did, and you had to survive. That is hard. In order to respond to that, he had to become a hard man, with very hard rules, very hard discipline for himself, very hard days, hard work, et cetera. Clarence Thomas
4
Good manners will open doors that the best education cannot. Clarence Thomas
5
And I don't think that government has a role in telling people how to live their lives. Maybe a minister does, maybe your belief in God does, maybe there's another set of moral codes, but I don't think government has a role. Clarence Thomas
6
When you look at where the real problems are among minorities in our society, particularly blacks, it's at the bottom. It's the people who are in school systems that don't educate, neighborhoods where there is a lot of crime, drugs, the whole bit. Clarence Thomas