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Executive Times |
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2007 Book Reviews |
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My
Grandfather's Son by Clarence Thomas |
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Rating: |
*** |
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(Recommended) |
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Click
on title or picture to buy from amazon.com |
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Bitter While
reading Clarence Thomas’ memoir, My
Grandfather's Son, I kept wondering why he wrote this book. As with all
memoirs, readers are receiving one point of view about a person’s life. What
makes Thomas’ view so fascinating is how comfortable he seems to be in
disclosing his sadness, anger, bitterness, drinking problem and financial
ineptness. It was not as surprising to hear him disclose his strength, spirituality,
and success in government service. In many respects, this memoir reads like a
novel in many parts, and many readers will compulsively want to see what
happens next. Here’s an excerpt, from the end of Chapter 6, “A Question of
Will,” pp. 148-150: In
February 1982, Pendleton James, President Reagan’s director
of presidential personnel, asked me to come see him. The administration was
looking for a new chairman to head the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The president's first nominee, William Bell, a black lawyer from Detroit, had
been voted down by the
Senate, largely because of strong opposition from civil rights groups. I said
I felt sorry for Bell, but that under the circumstances, I couldn't think of
anyone who would want the jobs, nor would I advise any of my friends to take it.
I said that I was having hard enough time at Education because of the public's
perception of the Reagan administration's racial attitudes, and couldn't see
any reason to jump from the frying pan into the fire. "Are there any circumstances
under which you'd agree to run EEOC?" he asked. I replied that anyone
who took the job would have to be given total independence: no pressure to
hire unqualified political appointees, no pressure to pursue an ideological
agenda, and no attempts to cut the agency budget indiscriminately. "But
all this is purely hypothetical,"
I added. "I don't want the job. In fact, I'm thinking of leaving the
administration." Pen ended our conversation by asking what my answer
would be if the president himself asked me to take the job. I hesitated, then
reluctantly admitted that I'd have to say yes. In fact I knew a little
something about the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and I didn't
like what I knew. Shortly after President Reagan was elected in 1980, Jay
Parker had been put in charge of the EEOC transition team. He'd asked me to
help out, and I was glad to oblige; I'd never been able to understand how an
agency that had a mandate to assure equal employment opportunity for all
citizens had gotten sidetracked into pushing race-conscious employment
policies. So at Jay's request I paid a visit to the agency's Foggy Bottom
headquarters, where I learned that it was a horrible place to work, a
converted hotel that was filthy and poorly maintained. I pitied the people
who had to labor in such unpleasant conditions. Why on earth would I now
want to join them? Pen James called me again on
February 12, Lincoln's birthday. This time he skipped the usual
pleasantries. "I just got back from the Oval Office," he said
brusquely. "The president wants you to go over to EEOC as
chairman." I said nothing. "Will you still do it?" he asked. I
took a very deep breath, then said yes. "The President wants EEOC off
the front pages of the newspapers," he added. That was the only order I
ever received from President Reagan, then or later. Pen told me that he'd issue
a press release that afternoon announcing my appointment, thanked me for
helping the administration, and hung up. I sat in silence for a moment,
wondering what I'd gotten myself into. Given my heterodox views and the
Reagan administration's poor reputation on civil rights, I had a pretty good
idea of what to expect from civil rights leaders and the media: first
skepticism, then open hostility. For a fleeting moment I couldn't help but
feel the urge to run, to go back home to Georgia and the uncomplicated life I
had left behind so long ago. Resigning myself to my fate, I called Diane into the
office and told her what I'd done. Then I summoned the rest of my personal
staff and announced that I was going to EEOC. Anita Hill immediately said
that she wanted to go with me. I said I'd think about it, reminding her that
her position at Education was safe, thanks to a new collective-bargaining
agreement that had given career attorneys the same job protections as career
civil servants. "You're a rising star," she replied. "I want
to go with you." I brushed off her description and said once again that
I'd think about it. The
dread didn't start to set in until after I got home that night. I was still
mired in debt, and had never stopped brooding about the damage I had done to
my family. Not only had I hurt Kathy and Jamal, but my decision to leave them
had strained my already shaky relationship with Daddy. I'd been careful to
warn Aunt Tina that I couldn't bear to hear him criticize me about so painful
a subject. He never did, always skirting the subject gingerly—but I knew how
he felt. He'd always liked Kathy, and it was all too easy for me to imagine
what he must have thought of my decision to walk out on her, leaving his
beloved great-grandson behind. "You'll probably end up like your no-good
daddy or those other no-good Pinpoint Negroes," he had told me on the
morning he threw me out of his house, and his terrible words still burned in
my memory a decade and a half later. Had Daddy been right after all? I poured
myself a large glass of Scotch and Drambuie over ice and downed it greedily,
alone with my thoughts and afraid of what lay ahead. My
Grandfather’s Son beats the drum of the bitterness that can come from feeling
like an outsider in almost every situation. Many readers will feel sad about
Clarence Thomas’ life after reading this book. This is a memoir that
describes a life very different from the one most readers have lived, and for
that reason, reading it leads to greater understanding and empathy. Steve
Hopkins, November 20, 2007 |
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The recommendation rating for
this book appeared in the December 2007 issue of Executive Times URL for this review: http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/Books/My Grandfather's Son.htm For Reprint Permission,
Contact: Hopkins & Company, LLC • E-mail: books@hopkinsandcompany.com |
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