Clarence Thomas: The Justice Nobody Knows
Supreme Court Justice Gives First Television Interview To 60 Minutes' Steve Kroft
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Play CBS Video Video The Private Clarence Thomas Steve Kroft interviews Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas about his life, work, and the highly controversial confirmation hearings that Thomas believes set a harmful precedent. (Part 1)
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Video The Private Clarence Thomas Steve Kroft interviews Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas about his life, work, and the highly controversial confirmation hearings that Thomas believes set a harmful precedent. (Part 2)
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Video Steve Kroft's Reporter's Notebook Steve Kroft answers questions about U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas (CBS)
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Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, left, and his wife Virginia speak to Steve Kroft at a recreational vehicle park in Georgia. (CBS)
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Steve Kroft, right, interviews Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in rural Pinpoint, Ga., where Thomas was born in 1948. (CBS)
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"The perception is, the critics will say it's because you're not smart enough or you're too insecure or you're afraid to make a fool out of yourself," Kroft says.
"Well, they make fools out of themselves with those kinds of comments," Thomas says. "Justice Marshall rarely asked questions. Justice Powell rarely asked questions. That’s a personal preference. I certainly wouldn’t do it to provide histrionics for the media gallery or for other people or for critics. Critics will always be critics."
Over the years the most vocal and persistent have been elements of the black community, where Thomas feels he has always been misunderstood.
"They feel that you received some preferential treatment because you were black. And that now, you are trying to say that they, that blacks, that other blacks shouldn't have it. That you've pulled the ladder on black people after you’ve climbed to the top," Kroft says.
"Steve, that's silly. Come on," Thomas says.
"This is a political reality. You are super charged," Kroft says.
"I don't think that when you're dealing with things that are matters of principle or matters of fact, that you can spend a lot of time worrying about what critics say. You have to do your job. My grandfather never worried about it. You’ve got to do what’s right. You don’t engage in this type of pettiness," Thomas says.
Thomas says the court may be closely divided on important ideological issues, but that he has never heard an uncivil word spoken in his 16 years there. He is reportedly one of the most popular people in the entire building, well-liked by everyone including his colleagues. Still only 59 years old, he is on track to become one of the longest serving Supreme Court justices in history. With every decision he makes and every opinion he writes, he thinks about his grandfather, Myers Anderson.
"The Supreme Court is a place where a number of justices have changed their views on things. Is it possible that over the next ten or fifteen years that you could change?" Kroft asks.
"My journey has over the years been almost that of a prodigal son where you journey away from your roots in the South. And now, I've returned to my roots," Thomas says. "And that's why I entitled my book "My Grandfather's Son." I have returned to my grandfather and to the way he raised me. And I think that's home and that's where I'll stay."
Produced By Michael Radutzky and Denise Cetta
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