BIPOC SNAPSHOT 4/26/23

SAD PASSING OF A BLACK HOLLYWOOD ICON

Harry Belafonte dead at 96

Harry Belefonte - Getty Images

Deadline News - Harry Belafonte, the actor, singer and civil rights trailblazer, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his New York home, with his wife Pamela by his side. He was 96.

Clarence Thomas Legal Trouble

Clarence Thomas, a United States Supreme Court Associate Justice, is no stranger to controversy. Recently, he has been involved in legal trouble that has once again brought him into the headlines. In this blog post, we will discuss three key aspects of the legal issues surrounding Justice Thomas and their potential implications.

According to Insider online news report, Clarence Thomas didn’t recuse himself in a case against Harlan Crowe’s family business in 2004. Recently it was discovered Supreme Justice Thomas may have not been truthful regarding taking gifts from megadonor, Harlan Crowe.

Getty Images

Alleged Sexual Misconduct

The first aspect of Justice Thomas's legal trouble stems from allegations of sexual misconduct made by Anita Hill during his confirmation hearings in 1991. Hill, who worked for Thomas at the Department of Education and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, accused him of sexual harassment. Despite her testimony, Thomas was confirmed to the Supreme Court. However, the allegations still follow him to this day and have contributed to a divided opinion of his tenure as a justice.

Financial Disclosure Issues

Another aspect of Justice Thomas's legal trouble concerns his financial disclosure statements. In 2011, it was revealed that Justice Thomas did not disclose his wife's income on his financial disclosure statements. His wife, Virginia Thomas, had earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from conservative organizations, which raised questions about potential conflicts of interest. While Justice Thomas argued that the income was not his and did not need to be disclosed, it still raised ethical concerns and led to calls for an investigation.