On July 1, 1991, I was a junior staffer at the Republican National Committee. At midday, a number of us gathered in an office staring at a small TV as the first President George Bush walked out of the family compound at Kennebunkport, Maine, to address reporters. He was accompanied by Clarence Thomas, someone Americans would get to know only too well in the months ahead.
In announcing his decision to nominate Thomas to the Supreme Court, Bush repeatedly called the judge the “best person” for the position and dismissed the notion that race played a role in the decision — a claim that more than a few found hard to take at face value.
That included an RNC director who exclaimed jubilantly at Thomas’s appearance: “Thank goodness he picked someone really Black!” The only Black staffer in the room (me) was somewhat bemused by the comment.
