Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas — the second longest-serving justice in US history — joined the conservative majority this month in a ruling that effectively dismantles Section 2 of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, eliminating a court-drawn congressional map that had helped Black voters elect their preferred candidates in Alabama. Alabama State Representative Juandalynn Givan called Thomas an “Uncle Tom” and a “lynch men” in a blistering video, accusing him of wiping out minority representation in Congress. The ruling could eliminate two Democratic-held congressional seats currently held by Black representatives Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures.

The backlash reflects decades of simmering outrage. Thomas has voted to end affirmative action — despite crediting it for getting him into Yale Law School — gutted DEI protections, opposed LGBTQ+ rights, and consistently sided against civil rights precedents set by his predecessor Thurgood Marshall. Critics note the bitter irony: a man who rose from poverty in Jim Crow Georgia through race-conscious policies has spent 35 years systematically dismantling those same pathways for others. Legal scholars increasingly refer to the current bench as “the Thomas Court,” reflecting his outsized influence over the 6-3 conservative supermajority.

Sources: The Root, Fox News, Newsweek, Good Authority, The Nation — May 2026

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