I had the opportunity to introduce Justice Thomas to the students at my school. However before I could do this I had to do a little research on Justice Thomas. From what I heard of his views pertaining to African-Americans, I was expecting to find that he had grown up as a rich kid in an up-scaled neighborhood, but to the contrary. What I found out was that he grew up in Pin-Point, Georgia; a small and poor community. However, once I found that out I could not understand how he had been labeled an "Uncle Tom." Here was an African-American man who grew up during the Civil Rights movement in the south, where African American's fought for the right to equal educational opportunities as whites, for desegregation, for the right to vote and for Affirmative Action and yet, as a Justice he sides with decisions that slowly removes these rights that were fought for by his own people.

So as he prepared to speak I took my seat to listen for understanding on his positions from questions I knew were going to be asked. As the questions on his views of Affirmative Action, the right to vote, segregation, his childhood, and different policies began to roll out of the mouths of my fellow classmates, I began to understand Justice Thomas' views. Now, by no means do I agree with all his views, but I began to understand the logic of his views and positions. Justice Thomas entire point around his believes is that people should not allow race to determine their outcomes in life. Acknowledging that race does play a factor, Justice Thomas refused to accept race as the governing factor, and that African Americans should not limit themselves to expectations set on them by others.

This light bulb came on in my head as I began to understand the reasons he based his decisions; however not the obvious, and even if I would have chosen the opposite. And most of all, I began to realize that people cannot solely be characterized by the race they are born into, but only as the person they have grown into. Even though Justice Thomas is an African-American it does not mean that he has to think or agree with the "stereotypical" thoughts of most African-Americans; however, on the same token just because he is a Supreme Court Justice does not mean that I have to agree with his decisions. If anything I learned, from this experience, that I must continue to fight to maintain what was fought for by my people, if I don't which Justice will?

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