Research Catalog

Title

The enigma of Clarence Thomas / Corey Robin.

Author

Robin, Corey, 1967-

Publication

New York : Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2019.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

301 pages; 25 cm

Summary

"Most people can tell you two things about Clarence Thomas: Anita Hill accused him of sexual harassment, and he almost never speaks from the bench. Here are some things they don't know: Thomas is a black nationalist. In college he memorized the speeches of Malcolm X. He believes white people are incurably racist. In the first examination of its kind, Corey Robin - one of the foremost analysts of the right - delves deeply into both Thomas's biography and his jurisprudence, masterfully reading his Supreme Court opinions against the backdrop of his autobiographical and political writings and speeches. The hidden source of Thomas's conservative views, Robin shows, is a profound skepticism that racism can be overcome. Thomas is convinced that any government action on behalf of African-Americans will be tainted by racism; the most African-Americans can hope for is that white people will get out of their way. There's a reason, Robin concludes, why liberals often complain that Thomas doesn't speak but seldom pay attention when he does. Were they to listen, they'd hear a racial pessimism that often sounds similar to their own. Cutting across the ideological spectrum, this unacknowledged consensus about the impossibility of progress is key to understanding today's political stalemate."--

Subjects

• Judges
• Biographies
• United States
• BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY > Lawyers & Judges
• Political questions and judicial power > United States
• POLITICAL SCIENCE > Political Ideologies > Conservatism & Liberalism
• Conservatism > United States
• Biography
• Thomas, Clarence, 1948-
• SOCIAL SCIENCE > Discrimination & Race Relations
• Judges > United States > Biography

Genre/Form

• Biography.
• Biographies.

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Contents

Part I. Race -- Race man -- Stigmas -- Separate but equal -- Part II. Capitalism -- White state, black market -- Against politics -- Men of money -- Part III. Constitution -- Grandfathers and sons -- The black Constitution -- The white Constitution -- Epilogue. Clarence Thomas's America.

Call Number

JFE 20-6174

ISBN

• 9781627793834
• 1627793836

LCCN

• 2019012026
• 40029484851

OCLC

1090278784

Author

Robin, Corey, 1967- author.

Title

The enigma of Clarence Thomas / Corey Robin.

Publisher

New York : Metropolitan Books, Henry Holt and Company, 2019.

Edition

First edition.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

Type of Carrier

volume

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Note

Schomburg copy with dust jacket.

Other Standard Identifier

40029484851

Research Call Number

JFE 20-6174

Sc E 19-1589