I was alerted to the news that, last weekend, Justice Clarence Thomas gave the commencement address at Christendom College. Surely you will be interested.
And if you have not read it, check out his autobiography.
My Grandfather’s Son: A Memoir
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My only criticism of the Justice’s memoir is that while it was too short.
His book is a great read. His childhood was truly as bad as that of any modern fatherless young black man in the ‘hood – and the difference was that he was a Catholic and had a very strict grandfather who sent him to Catholic school, where the sisters knew he was smart and made him work to develop it. Those sisters were brought to Savannah by the Civil War-era Bishop Verot of Savannah (who later became the first bishop of St Augustine, Florida) specifically to teach the children of the recently emancipated African Americans.
Justice Thomas could not have been more gracious and generous with his time and the graduates could not get enough of him. More than an hour after the ceremony he was still kicked back with a couple dozen of them, asking where they are going next, telling them whom to look up there, just enjoying himself, evidently. A perfectly lovely man, and Mrs. Thomas, too!
I read that book years ago and am still inspired by how much that family accomplished. Since now I’m a grandmother, it’s even more impressive how the grandparents were able to be such good second act parents.
My son was one of the graduates.
Thomas looked like he was truly enjoying himself. He obviously wanted to be there and was happy to interact with the graduates.
I understand this is only the second commencement speech he has given, the other being Hillsdale. Both schools on a very short list of colleges I would approve of my children attending.
Thanks for the video Fr. Z.
Justice Thomas at 1:00: “I always say ‘Introverts of the World Unite’ but I’m not going to a meeting.” Interesting story about Justice Scalia and Fr. Scalia around 17:00, and another soon after that about Louis Pasteur onboard a train with the Rosary.
Justice Thomas and his wife usually spend part of their summer roaming the country in an RV. Sometimes they stop at Walmart, until the crowd gets to big, to see what’s up.