'God's law' required him to vote against affirmative action, says Justice Thomas

Jet, Sept 11, 1995

It was "God's law," says U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, that led him to make controversial rulings against affirmative action.

The only Black U.S. Supreme Court justice told his longtime friend, conservative columnist Armstrong Williams, that "I cannot do to White people what an elite group of Whites did to Black people, because if I do, I am just as bad as they are. I can't break from God's law just because they did. If they were wrong in doing that (using law to discriminate) to us, then I am wrong in doing it to them."

It is Thomas' intent, wrote Williams, not to sink to that level.

"From the minute they (Whites) put the first slave on the first ship, they violated God's law. From the first drop of the venom of racism, to the slave codes to the Jim Crow law, they broke God's law," said Thomas. "If I raise my hand in hatred or revenge against them, then I break God's law. If I type one word at my word processor in one opinion against them, I break God's law. Whether it is my opinion or a concurring opinion. I break God's law. If I write racism into law, then I am in God's eyes no better than they are."

According to Williams, Thomas said he is committed to doing the morally right thing because "if I didn't have the moral obligation to do what is just, fair and right, I would be mad at myself..."

Thomas believes many Black Americans believe he should use his position to their benefit. However, Thomas told Williams that would be trying to right one wrong with another. "Jesus said, 'Sin no more.' That is what I have to do," Thomas said.

In his syndicated column, Williams wrote that Thomas said: "You cannot embrace racism to deal with racism. It's not Christian."

Thomas, has come under fire from civil rights groups for his votes concerning affirmative action, school desegregation and voting rights.

Thomas said in his opinions that affirmative action and other race-based policies were tantamount to racism against Whites and were just as wrong as racism against Blacks.

Thomas told Williams that he believes "a tremendous burden has been placed upon the righteous Black man of today to rise above the wrongs done to him and help right America...Black people have a critical role in bringing to fruition the promise of 1776. The signatories of the Constitution had the ideas, but never the courage to carry them forward for all mankind. We must have more strength than they had to do what is right. We can't give in to our passions and expediency and compromise the way they did. We must get it right this time, at all costs."