Be heroes, not victims, Justice Thomas tells UGA grads (Gets standing O)

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas told University of Georgia Law School graduates to become heroes, not victims, in a commencement speech Saturday that touched on his own challenges as a young lawyer.

Thomas said that after graduating from Yale Law School in 1974, he faced an uphill battle finding work in the South.

"I was rejected by every law firm in Atlanta. . . . I watched my dream of going back to Savannah evaporate," he told the crowd gathered at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens. "It didn't seem to matter that I had tried so hard."

Thomas said he took the only job offered to him -- an assistant Missouri attorney general position in Jefferson City.

He urged the 230 graduates not to allow themselves to become victims -- despite the "trials and tribulations" they might face.

"Today as the fabric of society is saturated with complaint and protest, each of you has the opportunity to be a hero," he said. "Do what you know must be done."

While Thomas got a standing ovation inside the building, outside, a handful of students from the University of Michigan held up red signs protesting Thomas' appearance. The students, part of a youth action group for civil rights, are traveling around the country demonstrating at events where justices speak. The Supreme Court is still deliberating a decision in the university's landmark affirmative action case.

"We want them to know that we are holding them accountable," said Neal Lyons, 22.

Nearby, about 20 UGA students and faculty gathered at the student center to hear law professor Donald Wilkes deliver a counterspeech attacking Thomas' record on human rights, saying that his opinions on civil liberties and affirmative action were too extreme to allow him the honor of speaking at graduation.

Wilkes also complained that faculty and students were not involved in the decision to bring Thomas to UGA.

Despite the small protests, UGA Law School Dean David Shipley said the graduation ceremony "went off without a hitch."

Thomas, known as a quiet justice who rarely speaks or asks a question on the bench, was "very much the opposite" in person, Shipley said.

"He was just as outgoing and gracious as could be," Shipley said. "He was a wonderful guest."

Law school graduate Rebecca Wasserman, 27, said while some of her classmates were not thrilled with Thomas' selection as commencement speaker, she didn't have a problem with the choice.

"Whether or not you agree with his decisions, he is still a Supreme Court justice and this is an honor," the Decatur native said. "We're lawyers; we should get used to hearing different points of view."

Though writing on sidewalks along Baldwin Street near the University of Georgia School of Law invited passersby to picket the commencement address given by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas on Saturday, only a handful of people bothered.
The chalk-drawn messages encouraged people to join protesters outside Stegeman Coliseum, where several University of Michigan students stood with protest signs throughout the morning ceremony.
Inside the coliseum, Thomas, who is known for his conservative decisions and stance against affirmative action, gave the commencement address to the Class of 2003.
At the Tate Student Center, two dozen people listened as UGA law professor Eugene Wilkes delivered a 45-minute address of his own - railing against Thomas' controversial confirmation to the court, his decisions on abortion and defendants' rights issues and his vote against a recount in the Florida presidential election.
In a speech peppered with criticism of Thomas' ''right-wing supporters,'' Wilkes called the Georgia-born justice ''quite justly, the most detested judge in America'' and ''an embarrassment to Georgia.''
Wilkes compared the devotion of Thomas' supporters to fundamentalist Christians' belief that the Bible is infallible. ''The lunatic fringe of the right wing is slavishly devoted to Justice Thomas,'' he said.
Thomas' decisions consistently restrict American liberties, the professor said.
''He is part of - even the embodiment of - a scheme to pack the court with enemies of freedom,'' Wilkes said.

The small crowd applauded at times and laughed at others. As the speech ended most cheered, while an older man sitting on a nearby bench booed.
Spectators didn't admit opinions as strong as Wilkes', though.
''I've got a lot of respect for professor Wilkes,'' said Eamon Walsh, a graduate student in political science. ''In general, Americans are too complacent and don't exercise their right to express their views.''
Walsh said he agreed with much of what Wilkes said, but that he intended on hearing Thomas' commencement speech and only wandered down to the protest after he realized he'd arrive too late to hear Thomas.
The Michigan students outside the graduation ceremony at Stegeman Coliseum traveled to Georgia to represent two groups: the Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action and Integration, and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary.
Cyril Cordor, an organizer of the protest, said that because Thomas has ''been known to be a conservative justice'' who has not ruled in favor of affirmative action, he hoped that this demonstration, among others, might sway Thomas to rule in favor of it in the future.

Published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Sunday, May 18, 2003.

Need heroes, Thomas says
Law graduation send-off from Supreme Court justice

By Janis Reid and Allison Floyd
jreid@onlineathens.com; afloyd@onlineathens.com

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, left, and University of Georgia President Michael Adams greet law school graduates Saturday during commencement ceremonies at Stegeman Coliseum.
Allen Sullivan/Staff

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas urged 200 law graduates to ''be heroes'' at Saturday's University of Georgia School of Law commencement ceremony.
The controversial, conservative Thomas was the keynote speaker at the graduation ceremony for the Class of 2003 at Stegeman Coliseum, where he told students that in order to become heroes, they needed to avoid being ''a victim of circumstance.''
Relating his own experience as an example, Thomas recalled how he was unable to find a job in his home state of Georgia when he graduated Yale Law School in 1974. But he went on to work in the Missouri attorney general's office and by 1982, was appointed the chairman of the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The country is ''suffering in a culture of victimization'' which is ''saturated by complaining and protest,'' Thomas said.
''You cannot be a victim and a hero simultaneously,'' he declared. ''Be able to honestly say, 'I did my best to be my best.' If you can do that, somewhere you'll be a hero to someone.''
Thomas' selection as commencement keynote speaker drew criticism from about a dozen UGA law professors and 50 students who signed a petition earlier this month, objecting to the ''process and result'' of this year's choice of speaker.
Josh Belinfante, the 2003 law school class president, was one of the three students who selected Thomas as keynote speaker and were subsequently criticized for the decision.
Speaking at commencement, Belinfante said that the class would leave the law school a better place because it is ''the first class to have a sitting Supreme Court justice speaking to us.''

Graduates and their families agreed that the significance of Thomas' position as a justice outweighed any controversy over his ideology or voting record. Plus, many pointed out, the speech carried the same congratulatory encouragement of most commencement addresses.
''He's not running for office. He's not trying to score any points,'' said David Keener, whose fiancee, Emily Elizabeth Barrier, graduated Saturday, a week before their planned wedding.
''He kept it non-controversial and did what they invited him here to do,'' agreed Keener's father, Michael Keener.
Thomas, a Savannah native, joined the Supreme Court in 1991 after a contentious confirmation hearing in which liberal opponents challenged his conservative views and Anita Hill, a law professor who once worked for Thomas, accused him of sexual harassment.
Saturday's graduation drew much wider media coverage than most law school commencement ceremonies. Television crews set up behind the crowd of graduates and in front of the Tate Student Center, where UGA law professor Eugene Wilkes gave a 45-minute lecture about Thomas while the Supreme Court justice delivered his address in the Coliseum.
Graduate Stephen Belan said he thought the uproar over Thomas' invitation to speak was ''unfortunate.''
''Certain professors chose to make the day about them, rather than about the school or the students,'' said Belan, who will begin work soon as a clerk for a federal court judge. ''Protesting someone's political views goes against everything (professors) have been teaching us through these years.''
As graduates and their families milled around the Coliseum following the ceremony, snacking on refreshments and snapping photos in their caps and gowns, many of the graduates refused to talk about their opinions of Thomas. Others said it just didn't matter.
''The vast majority of students were excited he was here. Regardless of your political leanings, it's an honor to have a Supreme Court justice speak at your graduation,'' said Ledra Davis, who received a master's degree in business administration and worked for six years before beginning law school.
''I don't know what people expected - that he was going to make some big political statement?'' Davis added.

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