"These overmatched (African-Americans) students take the bait only to find they cannot succeed in the caldron of competition."
The above quote, astonishingly enough, comes from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas writing in 2003. Thomas was attempting to argue that affirmative action programs in higher education deceived African-American students who, once admitted, discovered that they could not compete.
A new biography by Kevin Mariea and Michael A. Fletcher of Thomas suggest that his coolness toward integration is a product of his own history in integrated school settings. Somehow, Mariea and Fletcher say, Thomas has overlooked the fact that his admission to Yale Law School came about as a result of the same sort of programs he has slapped down as a member of the nation's highest court. Thomas apparently believes his appointment to the court in 1991 came about because he was the most qualified jurist between the rocky coast of Maine and the sunny shores of California.
Read More