Justice Thomas shares personal vow after grandparents' sudden deaths

In an on-stage dialogue with Peter Robinson of the Hoover Institution, Justice Clarence Thomas became emotional while recalling a pledge he made after his grandparents died suddenly in 1983. He explained that he resolved to live as a tribute to their memory, a promise that guides his outlook today. Thomas grew up under the care of his maternal grandparents in segregated Savannah, Georgia, after his father left when he was seven.

He noted that his grandfather, Myers Anderson, received only nine months of schooling and his grandmother, Christine Anderson, completed sixth grade, yet both instilled a deep respect for self-reliance and hard work. Connecting these lessons to economist Thomas Sowell’s emphasis on attitude and discipline, Thomas said Sowell’s ideas resonated with the values he learned from his grandparents and the Catholic nuns who educated him.