Claim: Clarence Thomas went to college.

Clarence Thomas -LRB- born June 23 , 1948 -RRB- is an American judge , lawyer , and government official who currently serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States . Thomas succeeded Thurgood Marshall and is the second African American to serve on the court .   Thomas grew up in Savannah , Georgia , and was educated at the College of the Holy Cross and at Yale Law School . In 1974 , he was appointed an Assistant Attorney General in Missouri and subsequently practiced law there in the private sector . In 1979 , he became a legislative assistant to Senator John Danforth -LRB- R-MO -RRB- and in 1981 was appointed Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education . In 1982 , President Ronald Reagan appointed Thomas Chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission -LRB- EEOC -RRB- .   In 1990 , President George H. W. Bush nominated Thomas for a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit . He served in that role for 16 months and on July 1 , 1991 , was nominated by Bush to fill Marshall 's seat on the United States Supreme Court . Thomas 's confirmation hearings were bitter and intensely fought , centering on an accusation that he had sexually harassed attorney Anita Hill , a subordinate at the Department of Education and subsequently at the EEOC . The U.S. Senate ultimately confirmed Thomas by a vote of 52 -- 48 .   Since joining the court , Thomas has taken a textualist approach , seeking to uphold the original meaning of the United States Constitution and statutes . He is generally viewed as the most conservative member of the court . Thomas is also known for his practice of rarely speaking during oral arguments .