The the Hello and welcome to Behind the News. My name is Doug Henwood. Just one

guest today, a return visitor to Behind the News, the political scientist

Cori Robin, author of the Enigma of Clarence Thomas just out from Metropolitan Books.

Cori who teaches at Brooklyn College in the Cuny Grad Center was on this show in 2013 when

his book The Reactionary Mind was first released and again in 2017 when the updated edition

was published.

He's been on this show at least five other times going back to 2004, which is almost pre-historical

when he was here to discuss his book Fear,

the history of a political idea which appeared during the wild and crazy days in the war on terror.

For most people, Clarence Thomas is something approaching a cipher.

All they know about him is that he harassed

Anita Hill and that he doesn't talk much from the bench of the Supreme Court where he's served

for almost 28 years. That tenure makes him the longest serving member of the

current lineup.

He succeeded Thurgred Marshall, the court's first black justice, Thomas is the second.

Despite that long tenure and despite having written about 700 opinions, almost no one knows anything about its political

philosophy. In fact, it's quite serious and thought out, though quite reactionary.

As Corey argues, Thomas is a conservative black nationalist, and both parts of that phrase are important.

Thomas was quite a radical in his youth, a left black nationalist of late 60s, early 70s

vintage and although he moved right later in the 70s he retained a lot of his black nationalism.

He thinks white people hold black people in deep contempt and there's nothing we can do to change that.

He believes that black American should withdraw as much as possible from white society because they'll never be accepted.

...