Slow Burn - Becoming Justice Thomas | 2. Smiling Faces
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3.9 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 7 June 2023
⏱️ 47 minutes
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Summary
Clarence Thomas went to Yale Law School because he thought it was a good fit for his left-wing politics. But when he arrived, it seemed like all the white liberals thought he was only there because he was Black. The sting Thomas felt fueled a lifelong resentment of affirmative action. It also drew him to a group of conservatives who helped sharpen his political beliefs.
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Season 8 of Slow Burn is produced by Joel Anderson, Sophie Summergrad, Sam Kim, and Sofie Kodner.
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This episode was edited by Josh Levin, Derek John, Sophie Summergrad and Joel Meyer.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | As a college student at Holy Cross, Clarence Thomas excelled at his studies, found a hero |
| 0:05.6 | in Malcolm X, and found his voice and campus debates. |
| 0:09.2 | But there was one area where he lagged way behind. |
| 0:12.6 | I came to the conclusion that he didn't know women at all. |
| 0:17.4 | Eddie Jenkins was a football star at Holy Cross, and one of Clarence's closest friends. |
| 0:22.4 | And then, you know, when he told me he was going to be a priest, and so what happened |
| 0:25.5 | in the priesthood, and I realized, okay, all right. |
| 0:28.6 | His brother, he had no experience. |
| 0:32.5 | Eddie wanted to help Clarence. |
| 0:34.1 | The trouble was finding women to date was a major challenge for black men at Holy Cross. |
| 0:39.6 | They were stuck at a mostly white, all-male school, and the closest women's colleges were |
| 0:43.8 | almost all white, too. |
| 0:46.2 | The white folks had this thing called a mixer, and that was all white people getting together, |
| 0:51.6 | drinking beer with loud, crazy music. |
| 0:54.3 | That was not for me, and a lot of the brothers. |
| 0:57.4 | It wasn't just the music. |
| 0:59.2 | Holy Cross's black student union included this line in its statement of principles. |
| 1:03.6 | The black man does not want or need the white woman. |
| 1:07.5 | Like other members of the BSU, Clarence Thomas strongly disapproved of interracial dating. |
| 1:13.0 | Although Thomas did have a white roommate, he thought relationships should be governed |
| 1:17.0 | by different rules. |
| 1:18.6 | At Holy Cross, he told his black friends that they had a special responsibility to defend |
... |
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