Again, the Old Parkland Conference and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas are in the news. The question lingering over Thomas is his acceptance of gifts, vacations, travel opportunities, and even the purchase of a house on his behalf, as well as other perks from wealthy individuals.
To a certain degree, we treat our Supreme Court justices like kings and queens. If other federal judges accepted such gifts, they would be in opposition to the law. All politicians, governors, senators, congressmen, and presidents would also be in violation of long-established laws. But not our justices. They determine the laws and the laws that apply to them.
I am not insinuating that there is anything nefarious taking place. I firmly believe that all the individuals mentioned are very honorable men. It just smells worse than a dead skunk's poop. And it must not be covered up.
I applaud Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Dick Durbin for their diligent efforts to get all the facts. We need to know what is the total dollar amount given by folks to Thomas and, for that matter, to any other justice during their tenure on the court.
The Old Parkland Conference was like the victory lap before the latest affirmative action decision.
Decades ago, the die was cast on killing affirmative action. It was done by two institutions that may have thought they were doing the right thing. But I doubt it. They knew that the backlash for instituting draconian admissions practices would ultimately accomplish two goals. One, it would be overturned quickly. Two, it would leave a very sour taste in the mouths of white people nationwide.
Imagine having a dual admission policy (not ordered by the courts) where less qualified Black applicants would be admitted over other students. UC Davis did that. Shame on them.
Imagine giving more "points" in the admission process for being a Black person than the quality of one's essay. The University of Michigan's Law School did that. It would not take long before that would be overturned and rightfully so.
Every court in the land agreed - except the Supreme Court - that Harvard's race being a factor in admission was correctly applied.
But the second consequence is the most sinister of them all. It codified some belief that Black people could not compete without someone putting their thumb on the scale.
So, while attending the Parkland Conference, I voiced opposition to the Asian American panel representing the plaintiff in the case. What happened next? The organizers of the event shut off my mic and asked me to leave.
I am used to this, however. It was my third time experiencing this (I am getting too old for this).
When I was first in government as president pro tempore of the Waterbury Board of Alderman, I opposed my fellow Republican mayor and party members who advocated for giving the Hispanic community a remodeled supermarket as their state-sponsored school. I claimed that schools for white people were built from the ground up - they weren't remodeled supermarkets.
I was thrown off nearly every board for such views, including the president pro tempore position. Little did I know that the mayor and his colleagues had a financial interest in the supermarket.
I not only stopped their efforts but soon thereafter, the mayor and about 10 of his cronies were all convicted of major real estate-related crimes. Some of them ended up in jail for up to 13 years.
A few years later, as a congressman and the lone Black Republican in the Congressional Black Caucus, I was also attacked for opening up my big mouth again. I testified before a three-judge Appeals court in Savannah, Georgia on the creation of racially gerrymandered congressional districts. I was promptly kicked out of the CBC.
What did I say? In a meeting at the White House with then-President Bill Clinton, I stated my opposition to the creation of supermajority Black, racially gerrymandered congressional districts. I told Clinton and the Appeals court judges that we could get more Blacks elected to Congress if we did not have super majority Black districts.
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney's father physically attacked me on the stairs of the courthouse after my testimony in Savannah. He was later arrested for doing so.
The Appeals Court sided with my position.
Today, the growth of the CBC and the increase in the number of Black Republican congressmen has occurred, as I believed and argued because white people would vote for Black candidates if they proved to be qualified. Today, a large number of Black Members of Congress represent majority-white districts, just like I did in the 1990s.
Yes, I am used to being kicked out of some of the best places in the land. But this is what I would say to adversaries: It never seems to end well for those whose hatred of different views makes them intolerant of others.
Gary Franks served three terms as U.S. representative for Connecticut's 5th District. He was the first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years and New England's first Black member of the House. Host: podcast "We Speak Frankly." Author: "With God, For God, and For Country." @GaryFranks
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