Supreme Court Justice Thomas tells law school graduates to make decisions by principle

Black Issues in Higher Education, June 17, 2004

YPSILANTI, MICH.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas told students graduating from Ave Maria School of Law last month to make decisions by principle first and never to quit.

In a commencement speech for the conservative Catholic school, Thomas said his initial difficulty finding a job in his native Georgia after graduation from Yale Law School eventually put him on the path to the nation's highest court.

"I retained all those rejection letters in my basement," Thomas told a crowd of hundreds at Frederic H. Pease Auditorium at Eastern Michigan University. The spring commencement recognized the school's second class of graduates, a group of 56 students.

Thomas urged perseverance without complaint, crediting that work ethic to his grandparents, who helped raise him in Savannah, Ga., after his family home burned down when he was 6.

"They lived their lives without complaint," he said. "They accepted life on its own terms. ... Today we are awash with complaint and whining."

Thomas, a 1991 appointee of the first President Bush, said that when asked by grandchildren someday about how to act in a tough situation, he wants to be able to say: "I did my best. I lived according to my principles and my faith."

He said their is nothing wrong with wealth or popularity gained from the legal profession, so long as it comes as a result of "principle rather than self interest."

Thomas, who is Black, is a unique figure in American politics. He has spoken against affirmative action, though he has also said programs designed to diversify universities probably helped him gain entrance to Yale's law school.

He is among the most conservative members of the high court. His views, along with accusations by former colleague Anita Hill during his Senate confirmation hearing that he sexually harassed her, have made him a controversial figure.

Mark Bailey, a 32-year-old graduate, said it was an honor to have a Supreme Court justice speak, but more so because it was Thomas.

"He was perfect for us," Bailey said. "He kind of embodies what we are about."