The Gray Area with Sean Illing

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What Clarence Thomas really thinks

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Aug 14, 2023

Guest

Corey Robin

Corey Robin, a political science professor and author of "The Enigma of Clarence Thomas," delves into the intricate ideological journey of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. He explores how Thomas's hard-right views emerged from the failures of 1960s social movements and evolved into a mainstream conservative philosophy. Robin discusses Thomas's pessimism about racial progress, the complexities of his legacy on issues like capital punishment and abortion rights, and his influential judicial philosophy amidst the shifting landscape of American conservatism.

01:03:36

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INSIGHT

White Paternalism

Clarence Thomas strongly opposes white paternalism, viewing any help from white Americans as harmful.
He sees such help as preventing Black people from being authors of their own achievements.

insights

INSIGHT

View of Black Liberals

Clarence Thomas views liberal or progressive Black Americans with hostility.
He sees them as malicious actors enabling the white racial order.

question_answer

ANECDOTE

Anita Hill Hearings

The Anita Hill hearings affirmed Clarence Thomas's racial despair.
He viewed Hill's testimony, backed by white liberals, as a targeted attack on an "uppity Black."

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The Complex Legacy of Clarence Thomas

01:48 • 21min

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Pessimism and Race Relations

22:27 • 7min

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The Profound Influence of Clarence Thomas on the Supreme Court

29:06 • 5min

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The Ideological Landscape of Clarence Thomas

34:06 • 16min

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Racial Pessimism and the Political Left: Analyzing the Impacts

49:39 • 5min

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Race, Politics, and the Pursuit of Change

55:08 • 7min

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Invisible Man

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In 'Invisible Man,' Ralph Ellison tells the story of a nameless black protagonist who navigates the surreal and often hostile world of 20th-century America. The novel begins with the narrator living in an underground room, reflecting on his life and the various ways he has experienced social invisibility. He recounts his journey from a small Southern town to Harlem, involving experiences with racism, a brutal 'battle royal,' and his involvement with the Brotherhood, a civil rights group. The narrative delves into themes of identity, power, and the struggle for self-definition in a society that refuses to see him. Through his experiences, the narrator grapples with the complexities of being a black man in America, ultimately leading to a profound exploration of invisibility and the search for one's true self.

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The rhetoric of reaction

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Culture of Narcissism

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The Enigma of Clarence Thomas

Corey Robin

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Black reconstruction

W.E.B. Du Bois

Published in 1935, 'Black Reconstruction in America' challenges the dominant views of the time by portraying the Reconstruction period as a critical time of Black advancement and a near-revolution of anti-racism and societal change. Du Bois argues that African Americans were active agents of their emancipation and that the period was a second American revolution aimed at democratizing the South. The book critiques traditional historians' views and highlights the significance of African American agency in building U.S. democracy, despite the ultimate failure of Reconstruction and the rise of Jim Crow laws.

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American Negro slave revolts

Herbert Aptheker

Herbert Aptheker's 'American Negro Slave Revolts' is a groundbreaking work that provides detailed accounts of approximately 250 slave revolts and conspiracies in the United States. The book challenges the myth of African American docility during slavery, highlighting various forms of resistance and rebellion. Aptheker's research spans from the early European settlements to the Civil War, offering insights into the complex dynamics of slave resistance and its impact on American society.

In this episode, which was originally published in August 2022, Sean Illing talks with Corey Robin, author of a 2019 book about the life and thought of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Robin discusses how Thomas — whose concurring opinion in the case that overturned Roe v. Wade garnered recent attention — developed the ideological basis of his extremist judicial philosophy, how his views went from the hard-right fringe to more mainstream over the course of his 30 years on the Supreme Court, and how the failures of the 1960s movements shaped his fundamental pessimism about racial progress in America.

Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area

Guest: Corey Robin (@CoreyRobin), author; professor of political science, Brooklyn College and CUNY Graduate Center

References:

The Enigma of Clarence Thomas by Corey Robin (Metropolitan; 2019)
"The Self-Fulfilling Prophecies of Clarence Thomas" by Corey Robin (New Yorker; July 9)
Clarence Thomas's opening statement, Anita Hill hearing (C-SPAN; Oct. 11, 1991)
Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (1952)
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022); Thomas's concurrence
American Negro Slave Revolts by Herbert Aptheker (1943)
Reconstruction: America's Unfinished Revolution - 1863–1877 by Eric Foner (1988; updated 2014)
The Culture of Narcissism: American Life in An Age of Diminishing Expectations by Christopher Lasch (Norton; 1979)
The Rhetoric of Reaction by Albert O. Hirschman (Harvard; 1991)

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This episode was made by:

Producer: Erikk Geannikis
Editor: Amy Drozdowska
Engineer: Patrick Boyd
Deputy Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall

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