Clarence Thomas

“And that's what attracted me initially to Race and Economics, because if you go back and you look at Race and Economics, he talks about attitude of self-reliance, of self-discipline, etc., how important those were.”

Clarence Thomas · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-19

Thomas explained what drew him to Sowell's work on race and economics.

“Even though my grandfather only had nine months of education, the crown jewel was education. My grandmother went to the sixth grade, for her the crown jewel,”

Clarence Thomas · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-19

Thomas discussed the limited educational backgrounds of his grandparents and their emphasis on education.

“It wasn't taking the measure of what you don't have. It wasn't to complain about that, but to develop the capacity to do things that you needed to do in order to… improve your life.”

Clarence Thomas · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-19

Thomas described the philosophy of self-reliance and hard work his grandparents instilled in him.

“When both my grandparents died suddenly in 1983, the decision I made was to live the rest of my life as a memorial to theirs,”

Clarence Thomas · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-19

Thomas made this comment while discussing the sudden deaths of his grandparents in 1983.

“And the point I'm going to make is that is the way I feel about Professor Sowell,”

Clarence Thomas · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-19

Thomas compared his devotion to his grandparents' memory to how he feels about economist Thomas Sowell.

“And the old man can't was buried many times in our house,”

Clarence Thomas · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-19

Thomas said his grandfather's saying was repeated often in their household.

“My grandfather, I remember him often saying, as a kid,”

Clarence Thomas · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-19

Thomas recalled a saying his grandfather often repeated to him as a child.

“Where did I first hear that? I heard from my grandfather, the single greatest man I've ever known, my grandmother, a saintly woman, my nuns. Same thing. It's the exact same thing,”

Clarence Thomas · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-19

Thomas said he first heard these ideas about self-reliance from his grandparents and the nuns who educated him.

“My grandfather, no education, raised by a freed slave, and he never complained,”

Clarence Thomas · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-19

Thomas praised his grandfather for never complaining despite having no education and being raised by a freed slave.

“Well, I think it's something that Professor Sowell has been trying to stress, that a lot of the groundwork to being able to do difficult things, to achieve, are attitudes. And he talks about other groups,”

Clarence Thomas · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-19

Thomas discussed how economist Thomas Sowell emphasized attitudes such as self-reliance in achieving success.

“We actually lived — farmed on a part of that plantation, and we grew up every summer, we farmed on that plantation,”

Clarence Thomas · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-19

Thomas described farming on the plantation connected to his grandfather's upbringing.

“He did it. He was a — he was just a great man. Now what do you do? How do you complain when he had nothing, no education? What do you say to it? But he sets this example of how you live your life.”

Clarence Thomas · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-19

Thomas continued describing his grandfather as an example of perseverance without complaint.

“And his favorite saying was, ‘old man can't is dead. I helped bury him.”

Clarence Thomas · said date not stated · reported 2026-08-19

Thomas recounted his grandfather's favorite saying about perseverance, 'old man can't is dead.'