1 hr 2 min
Episode 13 - The Transition from Thurgood Marshall to Clarence Thomas with Prof. Daniel Kiel Show Cause - A Memphis Law Podcast
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- Society & Culture
Today’s guest has an incredibly timely book addressing the differences, and some surprising similarities, between these two pillars of the Court, and the still unfolding impact of the transition from Justice Marshall to his replacement on the bench in Justice Thomas.
Our very own Professor Daniel Kiel has authored the forthcoming book, “The Transition: Interpreting Justice from Thurgood Marshall to Clarence Thomas.”
These two Justices may have been a generation apart in life, but they both spent the majority of their lives confronting the questions of race, the Constitution, and American Citizenship.
Professor Kiel makes the case that this particular transition was one of the most momentous shifts in power in the judicial branch of our lifetime. Not only did it shift the ideological balance on the Court; it was inextricably entangled with the persistent American dilemma of race. He explores the lives and writings of the first two African American Justices on the Court, touching on lasting consequences for understandings of American citizenship as well as the central currents of Black political thought over the past century.
The consequences of this transition are still unfolding today, both on the Court and in society. Take a listen to today’s episode to hear Professor Kiel tell us more about how their unique perspective as Black justices – the lives they have lived as African Americans and the rooting of their judicial philosophies in the relationship of government to African Americans – that makes this succession echo across generations.
Today’s guest has an incredibly timely book addressing the differences, and some surprising similarities, between these two pillars of the Court, and the still unfolding impact of the transition from Justice Marshall to his replacement on the bench in Justice Thomas.
Our very own Professor Daniel Kiel has authored the forthcoming book, “The Transition: Interpreting Justice from Thurgood Marshall to Clarence Thomas.”
These two Justices may have been a generation apart in life, but they both spent the majority of their lives confronting the questions of race, the Constitution, and American Citizenship.
Professor Kiel makes the case that this particular transition was one of the most momentous shifts in power in the judicial branch of our lifetime. Not only did it shift the ideological balance on the Court; it was inextricably entangled with the persistent American dilemma of race. He explores the lives and writings of the first two African American Justices on the Court, touching on lasting consequences for understandings of American citizenship as well as the central currents of Black political thought over the past century.
The consequences of this transition are still unfolding today, both on the Court and in society. Take a listen to today’s episode to hear Professor Kiel tell us more about how their unique perspective as Black justices – the lives they have lived as African Americans and the rooting of their judicial philosophies in the relationship of government to African Americans – that makes this succession echo across generations.
1 hr 2 min