- Clarence Thomas: [about his grandfather, Myers Anderson] He says to us: "You are gonna go to school every day and if you're sick, you're still going. And if you die, you'll go. I will take your body for 3 days and make sure you're not fakin'." And he meant it.
- Clarence Thomas: In those days, the Catholic Church had little to say about racism. It seemed self-evident that the treatment of blacks in America cried out for the unequivocal condemnation of a righteous institution... . Yet, the church remained silent and its silence haunted me.
- Clarence Thomas: [about his yearbook caption: Blew that test, only a 98] You assume you're gonna be discriminated against or at the very least, you're not gonna be treated the same way as whites. So, I can't get a 98. And if I'm gonna force someone to have to discriminate against me, then I have to have a 100.