Is Clarence Thomas a Conjure Man?
An exploration of hoodoo may reveal the meaning behind the ‘pubic hair on the Coke’ at Clarence Thomas’s Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings
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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is a man who stirs up strong emotions. Recently, he has come under attack for ethical concerns, including allegedly failing to disclose luxury travel and other gifts, as well as submitting inaccurate and incomplete financial disclosure statements over the past two decades.
However, beyond these controversies lies a deeper and more enigmatic narrative.
Let’s dive into the less-explored aspects of Clarence Thomas’s life and heritage before delving into one of the most peculiar allegations that arose during his Supreme Court confirmation hearings.
Clarence Thomas and the Gullah-Geechee Community
Born in Pin Point, GA in 1948, Clarence Thomas’s roots trace back to the Gullah Geechee community. Pin Point, which is approximately due east of Savannah, was a tight-knit enclave where the main industry was a seafood processing plant that employed many of the local residents. The plant is no longer in operation, but the buildings are being maintained as part of the Pin Point Heritage Museum.
Exterior of the oyster shucking building, which is now part of the Pin Point Heritage Museum; photo credit: The House of Good Fortune
View from the seafood processing plant in Pin Point, GA; photo credit: The House of Good Fortune
The Gullah-Geechee descend from the West Africans who worked on rice, indigo and cotton plantations as enslaved labor. Today, the culture is concentrated in the coastal parts of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida sometimes referred to as the “low country.” The word “Gullah” is said to derive from “Gola,” referencing “Angola,” the homeland of many of the enslaved people. Some identify simply as “Gullah,” while others, like Thomas, use “Geechee.” By one account, Gullah refers to people in South Carolina, while Geechee refers to people from Georgia and Florida. Distinctions between the terms are debated, so we’ll use “Gullah-Geechee” as an inclusive term so that everyone can quibble with something.
In any event…due to the relative isolation of this waterfront community, the people of Pin Point were able to maintain the Gullah language — a Creole blend of English and African dialects —- and its rich cultural traditions. If you’re in the area and want to learn about Gullah-Geechee culture, consider taking a tour with Sister Patt, a local storyteller who can acquaint you with adinkra symbols and explain the significance of “haint blue” paint and the blue glass bottles that protect houses in the South from ghosts (haints).
Sister Patt (left) at the Second African Baptist Church in Savannah; photo credit: The House of Good Fortune
Learning about blue bottle trees at the Pin Point Heritage Museum; photo credit: The House of Good Fortune
A Brief Introduction to Hoodoo
The folk magical practice of hoodoo is directly relevant to this inquiry. We’ll cover the basics here.
Hoodoo, also known as conjure, is rooted in the spiritual traditions of the African diaspora, with influences from Native American, European, and Christian practices. Emerging in the United States during slavery, hoodoo incorporates a range of rituals, herbal knowledge, and symbolic tools to bring about protection, healing, success, love, and justice.
Key elements of hoodoo include the use of natural materials like herbs, roots, and minerals (hence its alternative name, “rootwork”), prayer, and spells. Practitioners often create mojo bags (charms) for specific purposes or perform rituals that draw on deep cultural and spiritual beliefs.
Hoodoo is distinct from voodoo, though they share some common origins. It is not an organized religion but rather a personalized practice that empowers individuals to connect with spiritual forces and their ancestors.
Nearly everything The House knows about hoodoo has been handed down by a remarkable woman named cat yronwode, a root doctor and teacher whose work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal (Page one no less!). She is the author of numerous books on the subject of hoodoo, including Hoodoo Herb & Root Magic: A Materia Magica of African American Conjure. She also led a hoodoo correspondence course that The House took in the early 2000s (more on that below).
Clipping of Wall Street Journal article about hoodoo by Cameron McWhirter; Dec. 28, 2010; from The House of Good Fortune Collection
Now back to Clarence Thomas…
After Clarence’s father abandoned his family, his mother struggled to raise three children on her own. When he was relatively young, Clarence and his brother moved into their maternal grandfather’s home in Savannah. His grandfather, whom he called “Daddy,” was also from Pin Point, and moved to Savannah to run a small business some years before. He lived there in a modest but well appointed home. Young Clarence thrived under his grandfather’s stern but loving care and discipline. He attended Catholic schools, where he excelled as a student, and briefly attended a seminary as a step on the road to becoming a priest.
Clarence Thomas (left) with his brother, Myers. In his memoir, My Grandfather’s Son, the caption reads: “With Myers when I was probably eight or nine years old. I am on the left wearing a blazer from St. Benedict’s, the Roman Catholic Grammar School whose nuns taught me that God made all men, including blacks, equal.”
Everyone in Pin Point had a distinctive nickname, and Clarence’s was “Boy”. Yes, “Boy.” This photo is displayed in the Pin Point Heritage Museum. Photo credit: The House of Good Fortune
Thomas left the seminary and attended college at Holy Cross in Massachusetts before earning a J.D. from Yale Law School. After working briefly in the legal department of Monsanto, he was basically a career civil servant, serving as an Assistant Attorney General in Missouri, in the Department of Education, as the head of the EEOC, and an Appellate Judge before being appointed to the Supreme Court in 1991.
If you’re interested in the details of Clarence Thomas’s educational and professional life, you can read his memoir, “My Grandfather’s Son,” which was published in 2007. But spoiler alert: it contains scant information about the subjects we are about to broach.
What was really going on at Clarence Thomas’s Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing?
Clarence Thomas became a figure of national interest during his contentious U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearing in October of 1991. As the second African American nominee to the Supreme Court (and as a Republican nominee), his more conservative views sparked intense opposition from many legal and civil rights groups.
During the confirmation hearing, he was questioned for days about all manner of topics, including his judicial philosophy, religious beliefs and comments from past speeches.
This was all fairly normal-course, but things took a dramatic turn when was accused of sexual harassment by a woman named Anita Hill, who had worked with Thomas both at the Department of Education (OCR) and the EEOC. Anita Hill alleged that Thomas:
Made Unwanted Advances and Personal Remarks: Hill stated that Thomas repeatedly pressured her for dates despite her clear lack of interest, which created a hostile work environment, and made comments about her physical appearance.
Commented on Pornography at Work: She alleged that Thomas described scenes from pornographic movies he had seen, including allegedly referring to an actor known as “Long Dong Silver.”
Engaged in Inappropriate Conversations: Hill testified that Thomas frequently discussed sexually explicit topics in the workplace, including references to graphic sexual acts.
Thomas’s general position was, first, a categorical denial that he had ever said or done anything to Anita Hill that would constitute sexual harassment; and second, that the lurid allegations against him played on racist and bigoted stereotypes of Black men. Thomas was outraged at having to face the accusations in a public form, famously calling the proceedings a “high-tech lynching.”
The hearings divided public opinion, but one allegation stood out for its sheer strangeness — Thomas allegedly strolled over to his desk one day and asked, “Who has put a pubic hair on my Coke?”
To understand the potential significance of this bizarre statement, one must consider hoodoo’s rituals related to love and attraction.
Excerpt of Anita Hill’s testimony
Altered magazine clipping of Anita Hill
Love-Drawing Practices in the Hoodoo Tradition
Let’s say that a woman, Lucille, fancies a man named Ricky. Despite her efforts to smile and wink at Ricky after church, he won’t pay her any mind. Undeterred, Lucille visits her local root doctor and asks for help. She says, “Doctor, what can I do to attract the attention of a man?” The doctor tells her to give herself a spiritual bath containing special love-drawing herbs such as damiana and rosehips. He tells her to take the bath at a time when the hands of the clock are moving upwards (e.g. eight o’clock or nine o’clock), and to dispose of the bathwater in a ritually appropriate way. He may also offer to sell her a special oil like “Adam and Eve” or “Come to Me” either to anoint candles that she will burn or to dress a special charm.
Lucille follows these orders and is able to arrange a date with Ricky. They have a nice time at the movies, but Lucille is ready to take it to the next level. She goes back to the root doctor and says, “Doctor, I am tired of pussyfooting around with Ricky. I need to make him love me. Give me your most powerful medicine so I can conjure this man for good!”
The doctor says, “OK. Lucille. Here’s what you do. Invite Ricky over to your house for a cup of coffee or tea. Put on a pretty dress and sprinkle a specially scented sachet around to help attract love. He’ll see how well you tend your home and what a great hostess you are. But all of this is beside the point. You are going to prepare a special dish for or him. Follow the recipe I give you — and do not deviate from it! If you do what I say, he’ll be yours.”
Recipe for ‘Kiss Me Now Balls,” as published in Hoodoo Food! The 2011 Conjure Cook-Off and Rootwork Recipe Round-Up (permission to republish this excerpt was neither sought nor obtained)
1-1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons of molasses (a love-sweetener)
3/4 cup brown sugar (a love-sweetener)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger (to hurry/heat up a relationship)
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg (increase odds in your favor)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (luck and money, heating up love)
1/4 teaspoon damiana (sexual potency; an aphrodisiac)
1/4 teaspoon catnip (enticing sexuality and flirtation)
1/4 teaspoon cardamom (to attract a lover)
1/4 teaspoon allspice (money-luck, release of mental tension)
1/4 teaspoon ground or crushed cubeb (to attract a lover)
1 tablespoon flaxseed meal (health and well-being)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (love and romance)
1 tablespoon water (spiritual cleansing)
1/4 teaspoon menstrual blood or other sexual fluid (love-binding)
1 cup chopped pecans or other nuts (male sexual potency)
1 coon dong or 1 whole Queen Elizabeth root (optional)
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar (optional)
If you want the rest of the recipe, you’ll have to buy the book. :)
Did you catch the special ingredient? Right after “water,” the recipe instructs Lucille to put menstrual blood (or other sexual fluid) into the cookies she is making. In hoodoo, personal effects such as hair, nails and bodily fluids are considered potent spiritual conduits. They are believed to contain an individual’s essence, making them powerful tools for spells intended to influence or bind.
This recipe is an example of a type of female blood magic. Underlying this practice is the belief that a man who consumes the bodily fluids of a particular woman (even unwittingly) is thus bound to love her. For this reason — and The House has witnessed this first-hand many times — many women whose families are rooted in Southern traditions are sometimes reluctant to let their husbands to eat food that another woman has prepared.
Now Back to Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill…
You astute readers can probably see where we are going with this, but let’s spell it out…
The House believes that there was important subtext to the alleged conversation between Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill that was unrecognized and overlooked by all of the Senators and (most of the) spectators who were watching the events unfold, and that subtext was firmly rooted in hoodoo culture.
Could the “pubic hair” comment have been an oblique reference to a cultural belief system or a metaphorical allusion tied to his Gullah-Geechee heritage? While there’s no direct evidence linking Thomas to hoodoo practices, his background might provide a lens through which to interpret such an allegation. The cultural resonance of personal items like hair in spiritual contexts could explain the meaning behind this provacative remark.
Let me be clear — this is not an original idea. This information was imparted to The House while taking the aforementioned hoodoo correspondence course, and similar observations have been made online by others.
What follows is a direct quote from the course materials in response to a question about how to practice conjure in an undetected way (permission to republish this excerpt was neither sought nor obtained):
“Do you all remember back in 1991 when Clarence Thomas was being confirmed for the U.S. Supreme Court and he was confronted with serious allegations of ‘sexual harassment’ by Professor Anita Hill, who claimed that while she was working for him, Thomas had said that he found a public hair on his can of Coke? The press labeled her accusation ‘meaningless and bizarre.’ Did you wonder at the time what kind of weird ‘sexual harassment’ that was?
“Hill’s story seemed loony to many European-American reporters and politicians, but it made perfect sense when you recall that both of the parties were African-American. The whole thing wasn’t really about sexual harassment — Judge Thomas has accused Professor Hill of attempting to hoodoo him! This subject was overlooked by the press, but every rootworker who heard the story understood that Thomas was saying that he thought Hill laid a trick to get around his reluctance to take an opened drink container from a woman because it might contain Menstrual Blood. He was accusing her of passing the sealed can of soda between her legs to get some of her stuff on it, and implying that in doing so she had inadvertently let a public hair remain on the can. I don’t know if Anita Hill actually worked that trick or not — but I do know that Clarence Thomas was speaking from well within the hoodoo tradition when he made that allegation.
“So anyway, there’s your sneaky trick— if the man you like will only accept a sealed can or bottle of soda, then you can wait until he’s not around, pass the container between your legs and rub it on your pussy to dress it. When you get to know him better, invite him over for some pasta in tomato sauce and see if he refuses that too. If he won’t eat any red foods that you prepare, then you know that his family trained him well and he is resisting your attempts to capture his love.”
What do you think, dear readers? Does this explanation seem credible to you?
The House thinks it’s almost certainly 90% correct. Here are some thoughts for consideration.
Satirical Art from The Skunk: Infamous Pubic Hair from 1991 Clarence Thomas Confirmation Hearings on Display at Smithsonian; November 1, 2011
Did Clarence Thomas say, “Who has put a pubic hair on my coke?”
The House thinks so — for two reasons.
First, it is so bizarre a statement that it’s difficult to believe that Anita Hill would make it up out of thin air. It’s just too out there. It’s too weird. Yes, the mainstream media labeled her accusations as “bizarre and meaningless,” but that was only half-right. They were bizarre, but they were absolutely not meaningless.
Second, Clarence Thomas addresses other accusations in his memoir, but he is curiously silent on this one. In fact, the phrase “pubic hair” does not appear once in the book. Perhaps it was too embarrassing or he deemed it beneath him to address, but he addressed other accusations that are equally vulgar, in The House’s view.
Thomas writes on p. 265 of My Grandfather’s Son: “I have no intention of repeating the dirty details here. Suffice it to say that it was a relief to hear them at long last, since there was no truth to them: they were nothing more than an extravagant fiction, concocted so as to have the maximum possible impact on the public.”
But he then goes on to discuss several of the allegations in detail, including that he had used the term “Long Dong Silver” to refer to private parts.
For context, here is a relevant excerpt of an exchange between Thomas and Senator Orrin Hatch from the hearing in 1991, where Hatch, a Thomas supporter, appears to suggest that Anita Hill either took a line from The Exorcist and attributed it to Thomas or that Thomas may have been paraphrasing a passage from The Exorcist:
Excerpt from testimony at Clarence Thomas’s Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing referencing the film, The Exorcist, as a possible source of the alleged comment about pubic hair
The closest that Thomas comes to discussing the pubic hair remark in his memoir is summarizing a pre-session exchange between himself and Senator Orrin Hatch in which Hatch asked him if he had ever seen the movie The Exorcist or read the novel on which it is based. He said that he may have seen parts of the film but he had not seen the whole movie or read the book.
In Thomas’s view, it may have been better to remain silent on this particular claim because the real explanation is, in some ways, even stranger than the accusation.
2. Why would Clarence Thomas ask if someone had put a pubic hair on his Coke?
There are two possible reasons, in The House’s view.
The first explanation is that he was “flirting” with Hill or trying to determine whether she was “flirting” with him. Thomas denies that he ever had any interest in Hill. But believe it or not, sometimes co-workers say flirtatious things to one another in the office, even if they are not interested in dating. Perhaps he was in a silly mood that day and expressed some words that were intended to determine whether Anita Hill was trying to capture his heart. A non-hoodoo way to express this idea would be, “Hey Anita, are you trying to win me over with a sneaky trick?” or “Are you trying to butter up your boss?,” (the implication being that her career would benefit if he was favorably inclined toward her). If the allegation were worded in this way, it might not have captured the country’s attention in the way that it did.
The second possible explanation is that Thomas was code-switching, a concept that is well understood today but did not really exist at the time. In other words, Thomas was making a coded comment that he thought an African-American woman would understand. Maybe he was testing her to see if she would pick up what he was laying down — like, “Hey Anita? Do you get this? Do you understand me? Are we cool?” Maybe he thought that making a comment like this would cause her to feel a sense of affiliation with him stemming from shared cultural experience as Black folks? Or perhaps it was just an off-handed comment he made because it was second nature to him.
But wait a minute…let’s take a step back. Why are we assuming that Clarence Thomas was speaking with knowledge of hoodoo when he made that comment? He was raised Roman Catholic and attended Catholic schools. He was an altar boy who was studying to be a priest! Why would he know anything about hoodoo?
The answer to this fair question is: Only Clarence Thomas knows for sure — and he is not telling.
But recall that at the outset of this post, The House said that we would be entering into the realm of conjecture. While we cannot be certain, The House believes that these practices and customs would have been familiar to someone who grew up in Pin Point, GA and was raised by a grandfather from Pin Point, GA. The House does not contend that Clarence Thomas was a hoodoo practitioner or a root doctor, but that, having grown up in the South, where these beliefs were (and are) common, it stands to reason that he would have been aware. Think of your own experience with elders in your family and see if this explanation rings true.
As for being a practicing Catholic, all manner of folk customs have been blended with Catholicism. While they might not be sanctioned by the Church, they are very much a part of the lived experience of religion for many Catholics around the world. Hoodoo is not at odds with Christianity, and in fact there are numerous Christian elements woven into the fabric of the practice, such as reciting Psalm 23 and other Bible verses.
3. Did Anita Hill understand the meaning behind Clarence Thomas’s statement?
The House thinks it’s fairly clear that she did not. Anita Hill was from Oklahoma, where hoodoo folk practices are not as prevalent as in the South, and in response to a question about what she thought Thomas meant, she testified under oath that she “did not have a clue”.
Excerpt of Anita Hill’s testimony
But… if she did know what Thomas meant by this comment, her decision to omit any explanation may have been a calculated one. Can you imagine Anita Hill testifying that Thomas was, in effect, accusing her of conjuring him? Those who were not inclined to believe her would have written her off as a total kook — or a witch — for even mentioning it, and used it to further disqualify her testimony. And those who did believe her might have used it as a racist justification to further exclude Black people from the power structures of American life (i.e. See what we’re dealing with? They’re doing witchcraft on one another in the office!!!)
A Narrative Beyond The Ordinary
Clarence Thomas’s confirmation hearing—and the pubic hair allegation in particular—remains a focal point in discussions about race, power, and gender in America. While it’s impossible to know the true intent or meaning behind every aspect of the hearings, examining Thomas’s heritage and the cultural context in which he was raised invites a deeper, more nuanced understanding of the man and the controversies surrounding him. While the alleged remark was clearly inappropriate, in hindsight, it’s somewhat disappointing to think that there was a national conversation about a topic that completely lacked its true meaning. We can’t understand history if we don’t have the full context, and The House hopes that this post will lead to a deeper understanding of a uniquely fascinating moment in American history. By exploring intersections of history, culture, and spirituality, we can seek to enrich our understanding of the diverse and complex narratives that shape public figures like Clarence Thomas.
NOTES & ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
The purpose of this post is not to determine whether Thomas in fact sexually harassed Hill or whether he should have been confirmed. Readers can make up their own minds on those topics. The purpose of this post is to examine a particular allegation that was so peculiar that it defied explanation.
Comments are encouraged, as are suggestions to improve the content and accuracy of this post.
cat yronwode. Much respect and admiration to cat yronwode, who is responsible for revealing an esoteric piece of knowledge that offers a new perspective on an important historical event. The company she co-owns, Lucky Mojo Curio Co., is one of the best sources of spiritual supplies, if you are ever in need.
Justice Clarence Thomas. Justice Clarence Thomas’s career trajectory represents a remarkable journey of resilience and achievement. From his humble beginnings in the Gullah-Geechee community of Pin Point, Georgia, to his rise as an influential member of the U.S. Supreme Court, Thomas’s story reflects both personal perseverance and the complexities of navigating identity and ideology in public life. While his tenure has been the subject of significant debate, Thomas’s experiences and decisions continue to shape critical aspects of American jurisprudence, prompting ongoing dialogue about the role of the judiciary in a diverse society. This post refers to Justice Thomas as “Clarence Thomas” or simply “Thomas.” No disrespect was intended by the omission of the honorific. Many of the events being discussed occurred before Justice Thomas was on the Supreme Court, and use of the term Justice or Hon. throughout would have been confusing. The House has tried to approach this subject with sensitivity and intellectual rigor, and would welcome an opportunity to hear directly from Justice Thomas or those close to him on this topic.
Prof. Anita Hill. Anita Hill’s decision to come forward during Clarence Thomas’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings was a significant moment in the national conversation on workplace harassment and gender relations. Her testimony highlighted the complexities of power dynamics and accountability in professional environments. While opinions differ on the controversies surrounding the hearings, Hill’s actions drew attention to important systemic issues that remain relevant in discussions about equity and justice. Regardless of where one stands on the controversies surrounding the hearings, Hill’s willingness to speak out underscored the importance of addressing systemic issues and advocating for a more equitable society. The House invites Prof. Hill to share her thoughts on the subject of this post.
The Gullah-Geechee Community. The House encourages members of the Gullah-Geechee Community, especially anyone with ties to Pin Point, to weigh in on whether this theories posited here are credible based on their lived experiences.
The Morbid Anatomy Community. The House recently had occasion to visit Savannah (and Pin Point) with members of the Morbid Anatomy community and highly recommends a trip to this beautiful area if you haven’t been. The House thanks the members of the Morbid Anatomy community who were present on the tour and encouraged the publication of this essay.