President's Day: A Black President in the Making
During Black History Month we examine influential African-Americans in politics
Significant African-American Politicians Break Down Racial Barriers
Clarence Thomas, wife Virginia Lamp Thomas, and Justice Byron R. White at Thomas' ceremony to be sworn in as a U.S. Supreme Court justice Oct. 18, 1991. One of the most well-known justices, perhaps because of his highly publicized 1991 confirmation hearings that he famously dubbed a "high-tech lynching," Thomas proceeded Thurgood Marshall to become the second black justice to serve the high court. (Michael Jenkins/Congressional Quarterly/Getty Images)
