Is Justice For All, or Is It Just Us?

April 14, 2023

by Elder, James W. Williams

Editor’s note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Community Times Newspaper, it’s staff or advertisers.

This week's great revelation that Clarence Thomas has been accepting expensive gifts from Republican billionaires was a surprise. I am just joking. The fact that he does not think for himself is precisely the type of Justice we felt him to be. The fact they are besmirching his name does nothing to the sensibilities of Black people because he has never represented us on the court. However, what is happening to him is par for the course of what happens to a Black man who sells his soul to the company store. They will use you as long as you are useful, but they kick you to the curb when you stop being beneficial to them.

From our perspective, his usefulness has lasted much too long. He represents this country's Black people who have not had a representative on the court since Thurgood Marshall. But for him to come right out and say he didn't have to give notice of receiving the gifts makes him too arrogant to be on the court, or it speaks to the unreasonableness and out-of-touch mentality of the folks we allow to be judges. Someone suggested the court needs to develop a code of ethics. But if the Supreme Court Justices are emboldened enough to think so highly of themselves that reporting ethical violations is beneath them, letting them write their own rules would be akin to asking the fox to guard the hen house.

We hope now Anita Hill is remembered for what she had to endure. Some Republicans thought since it was necessary to appoint another Black to the Supreme Court, that it would be a good idea to put someone in who was entirely under their influence. And yes, Justice Thomas's story about the bygone justices giving him the ok not to report gifts given by "friends" is about as believable as his contentions that Anita Hill was a willing participant in his unethical behavior. If there is anyone who believes everything discussed at those meetings held at cushy resorts had nothing to do with anything involved in the courts, we got some lakefront property in Arizona to sell you.

What Clarence has done makes us well aware we, as Americans, have been gullible and far too accepting of the status quo for too long. We accepted things the way they were constructed and passed down to us simply because someone said that is how it was and should be. Well, we have some good news for you; our Master and Creator tell us when the light comes, we are to walk in that light. This revelation has given us the truth about Clarence Thomas and others who are not who they say they are and are doing what they are not supposed to do. We believe that darkness and wrong can not, and will not stay in the dark always but shall surely come to the light of day. We hope Clarence takes this time to repent and show some remorse, but judging from his response, he has chosen to play as if he has done nothing wrong. So, in lieu of the information we have now about the truth, are we supposed to sit back and accept things the way they say they are? Or are we supposed to acknowledge that some men set up elaborate systems in an attempt to control us?

This system once ruled a Black man was only three-fifths human. That gives us a little perspective on how to give thought to this matter. They as well ruled that slavery was legal until they had a change of heart, which caused them to change their minds. We don't know if it was divine intervention or not, but the change did come. And this is one of those systems coming to light of day so that we can see the effects of the evil put upon us. What we choose to do now will be most important because you can only walk in the light once the light comes. This provides an excellent opportunity to consider how to make changes to the court so that it will have some semblance of serving the people in a way consistent with the values written and discussed. We don't know whether this means we need to expand the court or not, but what we do know is that it is time for a change. The responsibility we place on judges is significant, so we must put people of as high moral character as possible on the court. Having two justices known to have questionable backgrounds regarding the issues of sexuality does not speak well of our intention for using the court to do anything but further our propensities to want what we want. And to that end, we put who we think will help us further our viewpoints.

The time to let the Son shine in on all of us has arrived. My recommendation for you this week is to consider what we do next seriously. Because it will go a long way in determining who we are as a nation. Do we believe in the rule of law, or is it something that sounds nice and makes for a good conversation? Shall we deal with Justice Thomas in a just way, or is it just about us?