Justice Clarence Thomas on Political Views and Racial Expectations

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas recently emphasized that Black Americans should not be expected to adhere to specific political views based on their race during an uncommon interview with Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. Thomas reflected, “We had this saying [that there are] only two things I have to do: stay Black and die,” addressing the notion that his conservative stance marks him as an individualist. He argued against racial determinism, noting how some believe Black people should think a certain way because of their skin color. “I, of course, declined that invitation. Now, I’m seen as a contradiction because I’ve strayed from what others expect me to believe,” he added during the “Verdict with Ted Cruz” podcast.

Growing up under challenging circumstances in segregated Georgia, Thomas initially lived in a wooden shack with his parents before moving to Savannah with his grandparents. He was raised speaking Gullah, a language rooted in the English of African descendants. During his college years at the College of the Holy Cross, he initially supported Black nationalism, admired Malcolm X, and contributed to founding the school’s Black Student Union. Thomas shifted toward conservatism after his involvement in a violent protest in 1970 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The shame from the event prompted him to question leftist activism and embrace his grandfather’s teachings on self-reliance.

Thomas further illuminated his stance by likening imposed ideas on Black Americans to racial segregation restrictions. “When I was a kid, the Savannah Public Library was segregated. Would it be right to keep me out? No. If allowed, but with restrictions like limiting access to floors or specific books, that would be wrong. Then why is it problematic for me to accept certain ideas from specific books? What’s the difference?” he queried.