Thomas Chokes Up While Recalling Promise To His Late Grandparents

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas became visibly emotional during a public conversation as he described the promise he made following the sudden deaths of the grandparents who raised him.

The normally reserved justice struggled to continue for several seconds while explaining that their example has guided his life for more than four decades.

“When both my grandparents died suddenly in 1983, the decision I made was to live the rest of my life as a memorial to theirs,” Thomas told Hoover Institution fellow Peter Robinson during an on-stage discussion.

Thomas paused to collect himself before connecting that commitment to the influence of economist and author Thomas Sowell.

“And the point I’m going to make is that is the way I feel about Professor Sowell,” Thomas continued.

“All right,” Robinson responded. “Watch this because I’m going to lighten the mood here.”

Grandparents Raised Thomas in Segregated Georgia

Thomas was raised by his maternal grandparents in segregated Savannah, Georgia, after his father left the family when Thomas was seven.

His grandfather, Myers Anderson, had been raised by a formerly enslaved person. Thomas said the family later farmed land that had once been part of a plantation.

“We actually lived, farmed on a part of that plantation, and we grew up every summer, we farmed on that plantation,” Thomas recalled.

Myers received only nine months of formal education. Thomas’ grandmother, Christine Anderson, attended school through the sixth grade.

Despite their limited educational opportunities, both placed enormous importance on learning.

“Even though my grandfather only had nine months of education, the crown jewel was education,” Thomas said.

“My grandmother went to the sixth grade, for her the crown jewel,” he added.

Thomas described Christine as a “saintly woman” and Myers as “the single greatest man I’ve ever known.”

‘Old Man Can’t Is Dead’

Thomas said his grandfather built the household around hard work, discipline and personal responsibility.

Rather than teaching Thomas to measure his life by what he lacked, Myers expected him to develop the ability necessary to overcome obstacles.

“It wasn’t taking the measure of what you don’t have,” Thomas said. “It wasn’t to complain about that, but to develop the capacity to do things that you needed to do in order to improve your life.”

Whenever Thomas complained that he could not accomplish something, his grandfather answered with an unforgettable phrase.

“His favorite saying was, ‘Old man can’t is dead. I helped bury him,’” Thomas recalled.

“And the old man can’t was buried many times in our house,” he added.

The message was clear: Excuses would not be permitted to replace effort.

His Grandfather ‘Never Complained’

Thomas said his grandfather’s personal example made it nearly impossible for him to justify complaining about his own difficulties.

“My grandfather, no education, raised by a freed slave, and he never complained,” Thomas said. “He did it.”

“He was just a great man,” the justice continued.

“Now what do you do? How do you complain when he had nothing, no education?”

“What do you say to it?” Thomas asked. “But he sets this example of how you live your life.”

Myers did not teach personal responsibility as an abstract political philosophy. He demonstrated it through the way he worked, provided for his family and demanded excellence from the children he raised.

Those lessons became the foundation on which Thomas built his education, legal career and eventual service on the nation’s highest court.

Sowell’s Work Reinforced Childhood Lessons

Thomas later discovered the same principles in Sowell’s writing.

The economist’s work helped give him the intellectual confidence to reach conclusions that differed from those promoted by other prominent Black leaders and progressive academics.

Thomas specifically discussed Sowell’s “Race and Economics,” which emphasizes the importance of self-reliance, discipline and cultural attitudes in determining economic outcomes.

“Where did I first hear that?” Thomas asked.

“I heard it from my grandfather, the single greatest man I’ve ever known, my grandmother, a saintly woman, my nuns.”

“Same thing,” he continued. “It’s the exact same thing.”

Sowell gave an academic and economic framework to values Thomas had already learned in his childhood home.

Both rejected the idea that individuals should define themselves solely through discrimination, disadvantages or historical grievances. Instead, they emphasized developing the knowledge, habits and character necessary to overcome difficult circumstances.

A Life Lived as a Memorial

Thomas has served on the Supreme Court since 1991, making him the longest-serving current justice.

His judicial philosophy is known for its commitment to the Constitution’s original meaning, willingness to reconsider entrenched precedent and refusal to bend under sustained political attacks.

The emotional exchange revealed the personal foundation beneath that public record.

Thomas does not simply remember his grandparents with affection. He views his accomplishments, principles and conduct as a continuing memorial to the two people who raised him.

Their formal education may have been limited, but their lessons carried their grandson from segregated Savannah to the Supreme Court of the United States.