by Geoffrey Philp
Justice Clarence Thomas, hailed as the “brightest
possible northern star“ and lauded as a “legal titan”
prefers the sobriquet of Originalist, a justice intent
on reversing laws not explicit in the Constitution.
And while he remained quiet during oral arguments,
he’d been preparing tortured briefs against abortion
and affirmative action, which he called a threat
to the “notion of equality,” in his considered opinion.
But I wonder what the other black-robed justices think.
For at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia
Clarence would’ve been reduced to 3/5 of a man—
His marriage would’ve been ruled as miscegenation
His home surrounded by hooded men on horseback:
“Don’t be scared, ma’am. We’re just here for the n***er.”
Geoffrey Philp is the author of two novels, Garvey’s Ghost and Benjamin, my son,, three children’s books, including Marcus and the Amazons, and two collections of short stories. He has also published five books of poetry. His forthcoming books include a graphic novel for children titled My Name is Marcus and a collection of poems titled Archipelagos. His forthcoming poetry collection borrows from Kamau Brathwaite’s “Middle Passage” lecture, Aime Cesaire’s Discourse on Colonialism, Sylvia Wynter’s “1492,” and Amitav Ghosh’s thesis in The Nutmeg’s Curse to explore the relationship between Christianity, colonialism, and genocide. He is currently working on a collection of poems titled Letter from Marcus Garvey. He can be found on twitter and on instagram.