Page 6- The P ortland O bserver-A u gust 14, 1991
A Justice Of the People
and For the People
By John C . Danforth
fa m ily land. A m ong M r. A n d e r
son’s rules was that his grandsons
believe in themselves and always -
always -- do the w o rk that needed
to be done. W hen Clarence o r
M ye rs said th e y c o u ld n ’ t do
som ething, he w ould say, “ O ld
M an C an’ t is dead. I helped bury
h im .”
M r. and M rs. Anderson sent
the boys to C atholic school in
Savannah because they believed it
was the best education available fo r
th e m . T h e A n d e rso n s ta u g h t
Clarence and M yers to believe in
G od, to w o rk hard, and to get an
education.
The w o rld was beginning to
change fo r black Am ericans. For
Clarence’ s generation, people w ho
had gone before had begun to make
a difference. The people w ho
opened doors fo r Clarence and his
generation included c iv il rights
lawyers such as Thurgood M arshall,
the man Clarence w ould succeed on
the Supreme C o u rt; the Justices
w ho struck dow n “ separate but
equal” status fo r blacks; Presidents
w ho opened schools, colleges, and
universities; judges, legislators, and
citizens across the land; and fa m ily
members and teachers w ho did
everything they could fo r children
like Clarence and M yers Thom as.
Let m e te ll you about Clarence
T h o m a s , w h o m I have know n fo r
17 years.
C larence T hom as w ill bring to
the Suprem e C o u rt com passion,
courage, and independence instilled
by a life the President has described
as a m o d e l fo r a ll Am ericans.
A s he has acquired the educa
tio n , know ledg e, and skills re
q u ire d to be a Justice o f the
Suprem e C o u rt, C larence Thom as
never lo st sight o f his origins.
H e was b o rn in very hum ble
circum stances in the ru ra l South in
1948, near the G eorgia seacoast.
H e is b la c k , so C larence Thom as,
his fa m ily , and his neighbors and
frie n d s lived under a segregated
system and knew w hat it was to be
treated as second-class citizens.
H ere is w hat the laws and
custom s said to Clarence Thom as
and a ll his people: “ The race is
over fo r you before it begins. In the
la n d o f freedom , y o u r hopes and
dream s, the m in d and heart given
to yo u by the C re a to r, the content
o f y o u r character -- all these count
fo r no th in g . Y ou stand at the start
ing lin e w ith a m illstone around
y o u r n e c k .”
H is father left the fa m ily when
Clarence was a to d d le r; W hen a
house fire forced their m other,
Leola, to split up the fa m ily ,
Clarence and his brother M yers
went to live w ith their m o th e r’ s
p a re n ts , M ye rs and C h ris tin e
A n d e rs o n . T he great hero in
Clarence’s life was his grandfather,
M yers Anderson. M r. Anderson
was illiterate, b u t operated a small
delivery business and farm ed on
D anforth, a Republican,
is M issouri's senior
U.S. Senator
*
*
*
Clarence graduated fro m H o ly
Cross College, w ith honors, and
Yale Law School. As the A tto rn e y
General o f M issouri, I wanted to
hire the best lawyers I could w ith
th e b u d g e t p ro v id e d by the
legislature. I hired him fro m law
school in 1974. One o f his condi
tions was m y assurance that he
w ould be judged on his abilities as
a law yer; that he w ould be w o rk
ing in a co lo rb lin d office. F rom his
early days in that o ffice , he was a
keeping, and m orale.
In 1989, Clarence Thom as was
nom inated to the U.S. C ourt o f
Appeals fo r the D istrict o f C o lu m
bia, w hich is regarded as the second
highest co u rt in the land. A fo u rth
tim e, he was confirm ed by the
Senate to a position o f trust and
ho n o r. O n Ju ly 1, this distinguish
ed and honorable A m erican stood
beside the President, as the person
to succeed Justice M arshall.
*
*
*
Clarence Thom as is one o f the
most independent people I have
ever kn o w n . He calls them as he
sees them and w ill make his ow n
decisions on
the C o u r t.
H is guiding
principle w ill
be one o f j u
d ic ia l
re-
s tra in t. He
shares the
P re s id e n t’ s
belief, which is my ow n, that judges
are not legislators, and should not
impose their ow n beliefs and ideas
th ro u g h c o n to rte d o r w is h fu l
readings o f the law . Clarence
Thom as w ill take the facts o f the
case and do his very best to apply
the law and precedents o f the
C o u rt. He w ill not m anipulate
som ething in to what it is not.
U n lik e most w ho have served
as Justices, he w ill brin g to his
deliberations knowledge o f the life
o f the humblest people. His natural
sympathies are fo r “ the little g u y.”
People w ho w orked w ith him in m y
office s in Jefferson C ity and
W ashington feel very, very strong
ly about Clarence T hom as, and I
believe that is notable. One reason
they feel strongly, I believe, is
because we saw how he makes
friends w ith people in a b uilding ,
guards, m ail clerks, messengers and
others. W e heard his boom ing
laugh. A n d we all saw his deter
m in a tio n that justice be done, a
strong and independent m in d , and
his capacity fo r hard w o rk .
Lives are not stories in books,
people aren’t saints and Supreme
C o u rt Justices a re n ’ t m a rb le
statues. W hen he makes a m istake,
he owns up to it. He tries to be bet
ter than he is. He know s that no
one is com pletely “ self-m ade.” He
knows where he came fro m and
what those w ho went before have
helped to make possible fo r h im .
The key point is that he wants to
be the best he can be, in part as an
o b lig a tio n to
p e o p le
who
m ade a d i f
fe re n c e
fo r
him . Clarence
T hom as also,
feels an obli-;
gation to reach;
back and help.'
to lift people up. By his principles'
and his life itself, he is very deeply:
com m itted to the w ords carved
above the entrance to the Supreme;
C o u rt: Equal justice under law . ;
There is a message in this life;
fo r children in P in p o in t, G eorgia,:
and other P inpoints around the:
U.S. The message is: Y ou can do
it. There also is a message fo r the
nation. The message is: A m erica is;
in tru th the co u n try where dreams;
can come true, a light to the w o rld .
H ow proud every Am erican should,
be that good values, education, and,
sustained e ffo rt rem ain m ore th a n :
a match fo r O ld M an C an’t.
M ore than any other Suprem e:
C o u rt nom inee that I could n a m e /
Clarence Thom as w ould be the:
People’s Justice. W ith the people he;
stands. F or the people, he must be;
confirm ed.
‘Old Man Can 7 is dead’
said Thomas’ hero,
his grandfather
Judge Clarence Thomas
b rig h t, h a rd -w o rk in g and able
attorney.
1 was elected to the Senate in
1976. In 1977, Clarence went to
w o rk fo r the M onsanto C om pany
in St. Louis in its legal departm ent,
and stayed u n til 1979. I then asked
him i f he w ould leave M onsanto to
w o rk fo r me as a legislative assis
tant. He did so, and w orked fo r me
in W ashington fro m 1979 un til
1981. His p rincipal responsibilities
were energy, environm ent, and
public w orks.
In 1981, he was nom inated by
the President to be Assistant
Secretary o f E ducation fo r C iv il
Rights and was confirm ed by the
Senate. He was nom inated a year
later to head the Equal E m p lo y
ment O pportunity Com m ission, the
agency that enforces federal laws
against jo b d iscrim in a tio n . This
position also required c o n firm a tio n
by the Senate. W hen nom inated to
a second term as E E O C C hairm an
in 1986, I asked why he wanted this
jo b again. It was not a jo b that,
could advance his career. His
answer was, “ I have unfinished
w ork that I have to d o .” His leader
ship at E E O C was distinguished by
vigorous enforcem en t o f a n ti-
d iscrim ination laws to protect in
d ividual w orkers, by impressive
results fo r cases brought and relief
fo r victim s, and by th o ro u g h
m odernization at an agency that
had what were regarded as serious
problems in adm inistration, rccord-
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