This Is Why Justice Clarence Thomas Got Emotional at a Recent Public Appearance

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is a man of few words. For the 2025-2026 Supreme Court session, he accounted for just three percent of total speaking time during oral arguments, averaging between 60 and 230 words per case.

But he recently sat down for a conversation about Thomas Sowell and how Sowell influenced the Justice’s thinking. Justice Thomas got particularly emotional recounting his grandparents, who died suddenly in 1983.

Justice Thomas was raised by his maternal grandparents after his father abandoned him when he was seven years old. His grandfather, Myers Anderson, was raised by a free slave and only had nine months of formal education. Justice Thomas’ grandmother, Christine, only went to school to sixth grade.

Justice Clarence Thomas choked up on stage as he revealed the vow he made when both his grandparents died suddenly in 1983: to live the rest of his life as a memorial to theirs.

Thomas, abandoned by his father at age seven, was raised by his maternal grandparents in segregated… pic.twitter.com/1je1DCeSaR

— Fox News Politics (@foxnewspolitics) August 19, 2026

“The way that I think of things, 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,” Justice Thomas said.

Both of his grandparents placed high value on education and self-reliance. They both passed away after suffering strokes; Myers died on March 30 at the age of 75, and Christine passed away on May 1 at the age of 70.

Here’s more:

Thomas described his grandmother as a “saintly woman” and his grandfather as a “great man” who taught him the importance of self-reliance and hard work.

“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.”

…

“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,” Thomas said. “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.”

“Where did I first hear that? I heard it 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,” Thomas continued.

You can watch the entire conversation here.

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The Left has long attacked Clarence Thomas, one of the greatest Supreme Court Justices to ever serve, accusing him of being corrupt and politically compromised.

This man has the most incredible, inspiring back story. If you’re ever in Savannah, take the time to visit the Pin Point Heritage Museum on the Moon River, to see where he was born and raised.

Clarence Thomas is the epitome of the American Dream.

— Lisa Clark O’Neill (@LisaClarkONeill) August 20, 2026

Yes, he is. And that’s part of the reason why Democrats constantly attack him.

It’s funny how Clarence Thomas has like the perfect inspirational Hollywood black guy who succeeded against all odds story but he’s got the wrong politics so they won’t touch it

— HowlingMutant (@Howlingmutant0) August 20, 2026

And that’s all it boils down to: politics.

Compare how the Left treats Clarence Thomas and guys like Jason Arday.

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