Clarence Thomas and Me
I had one case with Clarence Thomas, who was an assistant attorney general to then Missouri Attorney General (later Senator) John Danforth. I certainly was not overwhelmed by Thomas's legal expertise. He was not dumb, but it was obvious that AG Danforth was trying to give a break to an African-American and show that his staff was not all White. You can call that affirmative action, or simply trying to make sure we have a representative government. I don’t think Mr. Thomas would have had the job if he were White. Senator Danforth was Mr./then Judge/then Justice Thomas’s “Godfather” throughout Thomas’s career. That’s okay with me because many White people have had their own Godfathers. However, it seems that Justice Thomas might look in the review mirror and see how he was helped.
Frankly, I have mixed feelings about affirmative action. I know that comment will piss off my mostly liberal friends. Until the 1960’s African-Americans were still second-class citizens. Any successful White person of my age (almost 75) who says, “…if I could do it, so could they” is kidding himself. When I needed something my parents, although not wealthy, made sure I got it, whether it was medical help or something else. The same is true for my kids and grandkids. That certainly was not true for Black children during the decades when I was growing up, because their parents couldn’t work in the trades, or the police or fire departments.
On the other hand, there is a difference between descendants of slaves and other people of color who have come to this country. Just because someone is a person of color shouldn’t give them a governmental advantage.
It’s basically a wealth and education gap. We need to bridge it somehow, or we are going to have more problems. That goes for both White and Black people. The rage of a large section of Trumpers probably is due to their hate of the elites who are more educated and lead better lives.
We should start with a radical reshaping of the elementary and secondary education systems so that graduates of Black and White schools are equally prepared. If that were the case, eventually there would be no need for affirmative action because all students would be applying to colleges with an equal footing.