A
native of Norfolk, The Honorable John Charles Thomas was the first African-American
and the youngest individual ever appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia
by former Governor Charles Robb in 1983. Seven years after passing his bar examination,
Thomas became a partner of the prestigious law firm, Hunton & Williams. This
achievement received enormous attention and made people aware of opportunities
for black Americans in law. In 1995, Thomas received the NAACP's Lifetime Image
Award.
He was among 12 black students
to integrate Norfolk, Virginia's Maury High School in 1965. While a high school
senior, Thomas won the title "National Achievement Scholar" in the National
Merit Scholarship Competition. He received his Bachelor of Arts with Distinction,
in American Government from the University of Virginia in 1972. Thomas served
as president of the university's black student organization, co-chaired the
1971 White House Youth Conference National Task Force on Education during which
he was a panelist on ABC News Issues and Answers television program.
"It can be done if
you have the will."
Thomas graduated from
the University of Virginia's Law School in May 1975. While attending law school,
the United States Secretary of Health Education and Welfare appointed him to
the Board of Directors of the Fund for Improvement of Post Secondary Education.
He served as a delegate from the Virginia Commission for Children and Youth
for the First Annual Judges Conference on Juvenile Justice held in San Francisco
in 1973. Thomas was a graduate advisor to first-year students and chairman of
the University's Public Community Relations Committee of the Black American
Law Student Association.
Thomas' advice to young people
is strong and full of reality, "Even if we start with meager means and in difficult
circumstances we can, through Grace and hard work, come to stand on the tops
of Mountains, I have gone from living in a public housing project in Norfolk
to the Supreme Court of Virginia, The road has been long and hard but it is
a road that is available to others who persevere. It requires looking inward,
calling on the best from yourself, demanding excellence from your peers, believing
that you can achieve and succeed. It can be done if you have the will."
