**Clarence Thomas Just Set Civil Rights Back 70 Years (Word Count: 1035)**

**Clarence Thomas Just Set Civil Rights Back 70 Years (Word Count: 1035)**

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is raising eyebrows and getting plenty of eye rolls for his comments on a landmark Court decision that helped invigorate the Civil Rights Movement.

On May 23, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in the case of *Alexander vs. South Carolina Conference of the NAACP*, reversing a lower court decision that suggested race was a factor in recent congressional redistricting in South Carolina. The Court’s six conservative judges voted together in the majority. The NAACP told *Newsweek* that the decision was a “severe blow” and “gut punch” to democracy.

Justice Thomas took time to cosign Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion for the Court, writing a concurring opinion claiming that the courts should have nothing to do with how political districts are designed.

“Drawing political districts is a task for politicians, not federal judges,” Thomas wrote. “There are no judicially manageable standards for resolving claims about districting, and, regardless, the Constitution commits those issues exclusively to the political branches.”

But then, he made comments that singlehandedly set the Civil Rights Movement back. Thomas went on to blame the problem with these kinds of cases on the Supreme Court’s historic 1954 *Brown v. Board of Education* decision, which banned racial segregation in public schools.

Thomas claimed that in the case of the Brown decision, the court went too far, calling the ruling an example of the court’s “extravagant uses of judicial power… at odds with the history and tradition of the equity power and the Framers’ design.”

The original Brown decision argued that racial segregation goes against the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which guarantees equal protection under the law. But Thomas has long argued that there’s nothing wrong with the idea of "separate but equal."

This kind of dangerous rhetoric is designed to continuously reassure his anti-Black, racist base. As every possible study done on this topic has resoundingly proved, the purpose and deliberate design of "separate but equal" was to create systemic and systematic socio-economic, cultural, and political laws, policies, and cultures individually and collectively tasked with the perpetual oppression of the Black populace in every way. This oppression is inversely linked to the elevation of the White community.

The brutal, perpetually systemic and systematic impoverishment in every way, designed with malice aforethought, operates under the racist-feudalist government that disproportionately plunders and damages the Black community. Nearly 90% of human, liquid, and land resources end up in the pockets of the rich, corrupt, and evil racist-feudalist plutocracy, while 10% goes to the vast majority of Whites making under $200k per year.

This is the material foundation on which White Privilege is built, providing White people, regardless of poverty, advantages impossible for similarly poor Black people to have. Numerous studies prove this:

1. **Massey, D. S., & Denton, N. A. (1993). "American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass."** This book shows how the segregation of African Americans in the U.S. leads to poverty and limited opportunities.

2. **Sharkey, P. (2013). "Stuck in Place: Urban Neighborhoods and the End of Progress toward Racial Equality."** This book demonstrates how neighborhood environments affect social mobility for African Americans.

3. **Desmond, M. (2016). "Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City."** This book illustrates the systemic discrimination in housing that keeps Black Americans in poverty.

Thomas further argued, “Racial isolation itself is not a harm; only state-enforced segregation is. If separation itself is a harm, and if integration therefore is the only way that Blacks can receive a proper education, then there must be something inferior about Blacks. Under this theory, segregation injures Blacks because Blacks, when left on their own, cannot achieve...”

The dangers of anti-Black legislation are stark, starting with slavery and continuing through the court cases that left Black people living a life of moderate enslavement until the 1964 Civil Rights Act was effectively enforced circa 1974. Republicans have been attacking this Act, and Democrats have largely let them, except when they controlled both houses of Congress. During those times, they passed significant anti-racist legislation, providing economic benefits and stability. In contrast, Republican Congresses have passed anti-Black, anti-woman, anti-youth, and anti-blue-collar legislation, causing economic recessions and socio-political instability.

**Government Studies and Commissions:**

- **The Kerner Commission Report (1968)**: “Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white—separate and unequal.” The report highlighted how systemic racism and segregation harm all Americans by creating economic and social divisions.

- **U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report (2018)**: “Disparities in Access to Health Care and Outcomes” demonstrated how racial and economic disparities in healthcare result in higher mortality rates and worse health outcomes for minorities, impacting overall public health.

- **Economic Policy Institute Report (2017)**: “The State of Working America” indicated that wage disparities and employment discrimination based on race harm the economic stability of the entire nation, reducing overall economic growth and productivity.

**Democratic Control and Legislation:**

- 1965-1969: Voting Rights Act of 1965, which dismantled legal barriers preventing African Americans from voting.

- 1977-1981: Community Reinvestment Act of 1977, which aimed to reduce discriminatory credit practices against low-income neighborhoods.

- 2009-2011: The Affordable Care Act of 2010, which significantly expanded healthcare access for minorities.

**Republican Control and Legislation:**

- 1995-2007: Welfare reform in 1996, which led to significant reductions in aid to impoverished communities.

- 2017-2019: Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which disproportionately benefited the wealthy and increased income inequality.

Voting remains critical to protect our rights and personal agency. If we don't vote, Republicans will strip us of our citizenship and personal agency.

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**Cited Books:**

1. **"American Apartheid: Segregation and the Making of the Underclass" (1993) by Douglas S. Massey and Nancy A. Denton**

   - Douglas S. Massey: Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University.

   - Nancy A. Denton: Professor of Sociology at the University at Albany, SUNY.

   - *Review:* This book is a comprehensive analysis of how racial segregation contributes to the economic disadvantage of African Americans. It’s a crucial read for understanding the systemic roots of racial inequality.

2. **"Stuck in Place: Urban Neighborhoods and the End of Progress toward Racial Equality" (2013) by Patrick Sharkey**

   - Patrick Sharkey: Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton University.

   - *Review:* Sharkey provides a detailed examination of how neighborhood environments limit social mobility for African Americans. The book highlights the importance of place in understanding racial inequality.

3. **"Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City" (2016) by Matthew Desmond**

   - Matthew Desmond: Professor of Sociology at Princeton University, Pulitzer Prize-winning author.

   - *Review:* Desmond’s ethnographic study exposes the systemic discrimination in housing policies that perpetuate poverty among African Americans. The book is a powerful call to address housing inequality as a means of social justice.