Justice Clarence Thomas was appointed to the United States Supreme Court on October 23, 1991 by President Bush. With his appointment, he became the second African-American to serve on the Supreme Court. Clarence Thomas was born in the Pinpoint community, near Savannah, Georgia. He has often cited his maternal grandfather, Myers Anderson, as the single greatest influence on his life. Myers Anderson was a hard-working man who believed and taught Thomas that "if you don't work, you don't eat."

Myers Anderson wanted Thomas to be self-sufficient, so he prepared him to survive in a hostile, segregated world where the odds were heavily stacked against him. Thomas has further stated that his views toward work, the world, study and other matters are all things that reflect the way that he was raised. The values that were instilled in Thomas led him to Holy Cross College, and later, Yale Law School. After Yale, Justice Thomas had difficulty finding a job. He has said that the best thing that happened to him was not being able to get a job in Washington D.C.

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