BOOK REVIEW – My Grandfather’s Son, Part 2

My Grandfather’s Son by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is the story of remarkable achievement by a much vilified man.

Political Views

Briefly radicalized during college, Justice Thomas came to feel that violence was not an answer and that the color of his skin should not dictate his politics.

It was while employed at the Missouri Attorney General’s Office that Justice Thomas’ opposition to busing began to crystallize.

“Even in a segregated world, education was our sole road to true independence, and what mattered most was the quality of the education that black children received, not the color of the students sitting next to them…[T]he problems faced by blacks in America would take quite some time to solve, and the responsibility for solving them would fall largely on black people themselves.”

Justice Thomas’ disillusionment with affirmative action took shape at Monsanto.  There he saw capable black managers – the “proof” of Monsanto’s compliance – routinely passed over for promotion.

“I no longer believed in utopian solutions, or the cynical politicians who used them to sucker voters, claiming to care about the poor while actually exploiting them.”

Only after taking a position on Capitol Hill did Justice Thomas actually become a Republican.

Personal Demons

Justice Thomas openly discusses his first marriage, and his struggles with alcohol and depression.

Anita Hill

Justice Thomas describes Anita Hill as an ambitious woman, willing to fabricate lies for political ends.  He adamantly denies the sexual harassment she alleged.

Readers will have to make up their own minds about this.

But Justice Thomas points out that Hill lobbied to follow him from the Dept. of Education to the EEOC; that she repeatedly contacted him after having left the EEOC, as phone logs document; that the witnesses Hill said could corroborate her story instead denied it; and that many witnesses came forward in his defense.

Summary

My Grandfather’s Son affords readers valuable insight into the political infighting in Washington, the author’s character, and the black experience in America.

Throughout the book, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas thanks the many friends who helped him along the way – black and white, male and female.

Justice Thomas’ fears were (and remain) that “big government” undermines individual initiative, and that attempts at social engineering spawn unintended consequences worse than the problems they are meant to solve.

READERS CAN FIND MY VIEWS ON ABUSE AND ABUSE-RELATED ISSUES AT ANNA WALDHERR A Voice Reclaimed, Surviving Child Abuse https://avoicereclaimed.com