Clarence Thomas: Fighter with Words

The little boy Clarence Thomas grew up in segregated Pinpoint, Georgia. Though children at school teased him for his appearance, he soon learned that hard work, a good education, and faith would take him into a world where true fighters never raise a fist. As the only black student in boarding school, he was called names behind his back and cruel words were slung in his face. He fought back with words and by excelling in both academics and athletics. When he graduated in 1967, he enrolled in seminary with the aim of becoming a priest. When Martin Luther King, Jr., was assassinated the following year, he set out on the path that eventually led to his appointment to the Supreme Court in 1991. Though the road from Georgia to the Supreme Court was not an easy one, Clarence knew that his greatest strength lay not in the power of his fists, but in the strength of his words.