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Clarence Thomas’ Long Battle Against Affirmative Action
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Originally published May 9, 2023, this story was updated on June 29, 2023.
When Clarence Thomas was accepted to Yale Law School in 1971, the school’s stated goal was for students of color like him to make up about 10% of its incoming class.
It was part of the nationwide affirmative action movement in which schools and workplaces actively recruited women and people of color into arenas where they had long been underrepresented.
For decades, many universities have considered race as one admissions factor to help create a diverse student body.
Thomas has long remained staunchly opposed to affirmative action. FRONTLINE’s recent documentary, Clarence and Ginni Thomas: Politics, Power and the Supreme Court, examined that opposition within the larger context of Thomas’ rise to power and how the couple has influenced American law and politics.
In a decision expected to have far-reaching implications