Clarence Thomas hits back at critics who question his Blackness over his political views

WASHINGTON, DC: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Thursday, August 13, said that critics have questioned his Blackness because of his views on race and politics. 

Speaking during a Hoover Institution conversation with Peter Robinson, Thomas recalled facing pressure as a student at Yale Law School to conform to political views he believed were expected of Black Americans. He also discussed how economist Thomas Sowell, a Black conservative, influenced his thinking and encouraged him to develop his own views. 

Clarence Thomas recalls criticism over his views at Yale

Thomas said he encountered resistance while at Yale Law School after expressing opposition to school busing and questioning whether Black families wanted their children sent to unfamiliar schools and neighborhoods.

“I remember saying those things at Yale and people, the bottom line was, well, you shouldn’t believe that because you’re Black,” Thomas said. He said he felt there was pressure to accept particular political positions based on his race, arguing that public figures and media voices could reinforce the idea that people were wrong for holding views outside prevailing positions.

“You have these views, you have these instincts, but you are getting inputs from the media, from the politicians, the people who have the megaphone, the people who have the loudest voices, that tells you you’re wrong, that tells you you’re bad, that there’s something awful about you,” Thomas said.

Thomas also said he believed there could be differences between the positions expressed by Black political leaders and the views held by Black Americans more broadly. “If you ask the leaders, they thought one thing. If you ask the people, they thought another,” Thomas said. 

“If they can prove you wrong, fine,” Thomas said. “But if they call you names or say you’re not Black, I mean, how stupid is that? Look at me,” he said. “There’s this overriding public view that you’re not supposed to think this way, therefore you’re not Black; therefore you’re discredited. Nothing you say matters.”

Thomas credits Thomas Sowell with shaping his thinking

Thomas said the work of Sowell, a Black economist and conservative commentator, helped him understand and articulate views he had already begun developing. He recalled initially rejecting Sowell's ideas as a Yale student in 1972, saying he “reflexively” dismissed Black Education: Myths and Tragedies because he believed “no Black man” should hold those views.

After being introduced to Sowell's Race and Economics, however, Thomas said he felt less isolated in his thinking. “It was literally like a drink of water,” Thomas said. “Here’s someone who’s thought it through and it makes sense. What your instincts were have been now demonstrated in a logical, analytical way. You’re not alone.”

Thomas said Sowell's example gave him greater confidence to express his views even when they drew criticism. He later developed a friendship with Sowell. “He always says what he thinks, but he never tells you to say what he wants you to think,” Thomas said of Sowell. “That is yours.”