Slow Burn - Becoming Justice Thomas | 2. Smiling Faces
Slow Burn
Slate Audio
4.6 • 25.2K Ratings
🗓️ 7 June 2023
⏱️ 46 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
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.
Josh Levin is the editorial director of Slow Burn.
Derek John is Slate’s executive producer of narrative podcasts.
Susan Matthews is Slate’s executive editor.
This episode was edited by Josh Levin, Derek John, Sophie Summergrad and Joel Meyer.
Merritt Jacob is Slate’s senior technical director.
Our theme music is composed by Alexis Cuadrado. Artwork by Ivylise Simones.
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Transcript
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| 0:28.0 | As a college student at Holy Cross, Clarence Thomas excelled at his studies, found a hero in Malcolm X, and found his voice in campus debates. |
| 0:38.0 | But there was one area where he lagged way behind. |
| 0:42.0 | I came to conclusion that he didn't know women at all. |
| 0:46.6 | Eddie Jenkins was a football star at Holy Cross |
| 0:49.3 | and one of Clarence's closest friends. |
| 0:51.6 | And then, you know, when he told me he was going to be a |
| 0:53.3 | priest and so what happened to the priesthood and I realized, okay, all right, this |
| 0:58.0 | brother he had no experience. Eddie wanted to help Clarence. The trouble was finding women to date was a major challenge for black men at Holy Cross. |
| 1:08.0 | They were stuck at a mostly white, all-male school, and the closest women's colleges were almost all white too. |
| 1:15.4 | The white folks had this thing called a mixer, and that was all white people, |
| 1:20.1 | get together, drinking beer with loud crazy music that was not for me and a lot of the |
| 1:25.2 | brothers it wasn't just the music holy cross as black student union included this |
| 1:30.8 | line in its statement of principles. |
| 1:32.8 | The black man does not want or need the white woman. |
| 1:36.6 | Like other members of the BSU, Clarence Thomas strongly disapproved |
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