Thomas examines past using selective memory
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

WENDY PIERRO/Acorn Newspapers TOP JUDGE- Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas escorts former First Lady Nancy Reagan to her seat before delivering a speech recently at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library's Learning Center. Thomas told Nancy Reagan, "You honor us in so many ways I can't express."

Although best known for his controversial confirmation 16 years ago, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas steered clear of any hotbutton issues during his short speech given recently at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley.

The 59-year-old justice spent much of his 30 minutes answering questions from the audience, offering personal insight into his first years as a member of the country's highest court and on his reputation as the "silent justice."

Thomas, a Republican known for his conservative stance, was confirmed in 1991. But the confirmation hearings for the George Bushnominee proved controversial, with civil rights groups contesting Thomas as a candidate because of his history of opposition to traditional civil rights approaches, such as minority hiring quotas.

Thomas also drew the anger of women's groups upset by sexual harassment allegations aimed at him from former coworker Anita Hill.

Thomas didn't discuss these troubling topics but instead told stories about the grandfather who raised him and the late President Reagan.

Reagan appointed Thomas to be the assistant secretary for civil rights in the U.S. Department of Education and later named him director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

"They both had the same common sense approach to life and the same common sense way of expressing right and wrong," said Thomas, praising Reagan and his grandfather as men who stuck to their principles.

Thomas' autobiography, "My Grandfather's Son," was released in October. He said he wrote the book to reach people who also came from poverty and out of obligation to the people who helped make him successful.

"It is not just my story; it is our story," Thomas told the audience.

Thomas said he missed former justices William Rehnquist and Sandra Day O'Connor- justices he may have disagreed with politically but respected as colleagues.

"I loved the court when I got there; I loved the people I worked with," Thomas said. "I don't think it will ever be the same. I don't ever think it will be like the old days."

The audience laughed when Thomas related a conversation he'd had with Rehnquist not long after being appointed to the Supreme Court. Perhaps feeling a bit intimidated working alongside veteran justices who had accomplished so much, Thomas told Rehnquist he'd begun to question his appointment.

Thomas said Rehnquist told him that for the first five years a Supreme Court Justice wonders how they came to be on the court; after that, they wonder how their colleagues got there.

The associate justice spoke for about 15 minutes and then answered a half-dozen pre-selected questions.

Because Thomas rarely speaks from the bench or answers critics, he's been called the "silent justice." Asked if that was a fair characterization, Thomas said he didn't know.

Previous Supreme Court justices rarely asked questions, and so many cases before the present court are familiar ones, he said.

The more appropriate question, Thomas said, would be why his colleagues ask so many questions.

"This is not 'Perry Mason,'" Thomas said.

When asked what he would change, Thomas said he longs to go home to Savannah, Ga., with his wife.

But those feelings recently caused him to feel embarrassed after meeting with wounded soldiers returning from Iraq, he said. The soldiers told him they felt uncomfortable taking up his time.

If those soldiers can put themselves in harm's way to preserve the life and liberties we have, Thomas said, it's not much of a sacrifice to stay in Washington.

"I wouldn't change a thing right now," he said.

Afterward, Simi Valley City Councilmember Glen Becerra said Thomas' observation that his story is everyone's story struck a chord.

"We're all part of this great country; the opportunities here to achieve are limitless," Becerra said, adding that Thomas makes a simple point that the country owes its citizens nothing, and we must work for what we want.

Although the evening included no mention of past controversies, Thomas' stance on affirmative action was on the mind of at least one audience member.

Marian Sama, a registered nurse from Canoga Park and one of a handful of blacks present, said she views Thomas' politics from a socioeconomic perspective and not from the standpoint of race.

"He benefited, but he didn't want to turn around and offer the same benefit," said Sama, who added that she profited from affirmative action by being the first black to graduate from her nursing school in 1967.