Clarence Thomas and Ginni Lamp Thomas Marriage Profile

One of the more prominent interracial married couples in the U.s., Clarence and Ginni Thomas have been married since 1987. Friends and acquaintances describe the marriage of Clarence and Ginni Thomas as a strong marital union that has been tested by difficult times.

Here's information on how and when they met, their wedding, and more.

For a marriage to be successful, a couple needs to place their relationship first and to stand together during difficult times.

Clarence Thomas: June 12, 1948 in the Pin Point community of Georgia.

Virginia (Ginni) Lamp: Abt. 1957. Raised in Omaha, Nebraska.

Ginni and Clarence met at an Anti-Defamation League colloquium in New York in 1986.

Ginni about falling in love: "Once I got to know him, I was like a pool of butter. I was in love with this man."
Source: Clarence Thomas: A Biography, page 293.

With Clarence's son Jamal as his best man, Ginni and Clarence were married on May 30, 1987 in Omaha, Nebraska at St. Paul's United Methodist Church. Their wedding was one year and one day after their first date.

About their wedding: "The couple had so much in common, and fell in love so fast, that the relatively rapid wedding was not much of a surprise to those who knew them. They referred to each other as his or her 'best friend.'"
Source: Clarence Thomas: A Biography, page 297.

They celebrated their tenth anniversary by renewing their marriage vows at a steak house in Tysons Comer, Virginia.

Clarence has one son.

• Jamal Adeen Thomas: Born in February 1974. His mother is Kathy Thomas.

Clarence and Ginni received custody for Clarence's great-nephew, Mark (Marky) Elliot Martin Jr. when the six-year old's father was sentenced to prison in 1997. Marky was born on September 22, 1991.

On raising Marky: "The justice promised to give Mark what Thomas’s grandfather had given him at the same age —- opportunities to succeed beyond what the boy had in Pin Point."
Source: Kevin Menda and Michael A. Fletcher, Washington Post, "Justice Thomas's Life A Tangle of Poverty, Privilege and Race", April 22, 2007.

Ken Foskett on the Thomas's decision to not have children: "Early in their marriage, Clarence and Virginia decided not to have children of their own. It was more Thomas's decision than his wife's ... Thomas believed he simply didn't have the time to devote to being a good father. It was a painful decision, particularly for Virginia, who had no children of her own."
Source: Judging Thomas: The Life and Times of Clarence Thomas, pages 302-303.

Clarence: Clarence has been a U.S. Supreme Court Justice since October 23, 1991 when he was sworn in as the 106th Supreme Court Justice.

Ginni: Ginni is an attorney. Virginia's past employment includes being a Republican Congressional aide, lobbyist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a senior fellow in government studies at the Heritage Foundation.

Books:

Clarence Thomas: A Biography
by Andrew Peyton Thomas

Judging Thomas: The Life and Times of Clarence Thomas
by Ken Foskett

My Grandfather's Son: A Memoir
by Clarence Thomas

Clarence has one previous marriage.

• Kathy Ambush: Born on June 6th. A week after meeting Kathy at a party in Worcester, Clarence told friends he was in love. One day after his graduation from Holy Cross, Clarence and Kathy were married on June 5, 1971, in Worcester, Massachusetts at All Saints Episcopal Church. Gil Hardy was best man and Kathy's twin sister, Karen Ambush was maid of honor. They didn't have a honeymoon.

  Kathy filed for divorce on May 22, 1984. Their divorce was granted on July 16, 1984.

Ginni about interracial marriage: “I don’t see my husband as black. I’ve never put up barriers in my life that don’t make sense. When we met, I was so drawn to his integrity, his values, his intelligence.”
Source: Peggy Noonan, Good Housekeeping, "Looking Forward", September 1, 1997.

Laura Blumenfeld about their marriage: "She calms him down. She lights him up. He makes her feel like the most important person on the planet. He jokes. She laughs. The Thomases' friends agree: They are thrilled to have found each other ... They prefer to garden together, neighbors say. They like to drive to work together. She calls him Batman because of his new black Corvette. He sends her flowers when her job at the Labor Department gets stressful. She hauled a four-foot card across the street to the federal courthouse for their anniversary. He pops over to Labor during the day just to say hi. They go on morning runs. They take after-dinner walks. Neighbors say you can see them in the evening talking, walking up the hill. Hand in hand."
Source: Laura Blumenfeld, Washington Post, "The Nominee's Soul Mate", September 10, 1991.

Ken Foskett about the impact of the confirmation hearings on their marriage: "There was perhaps one silver lining for both husband and wife: The pain of the confirmation proceedings had deepened their relationship in ways that neither could have imagined. Married barely five years, they already were working together like a couple who had lived together a lifetime. The heat of the ordeal bonded them together like alloy, they often said to each other."
Source: Judging Thomas: The Life and Times of Clarence Thomas, page 262.

Ginni about Anita Hill: "Yeah. I’ve forgiven Anita Hill. I’m still optimistic that one day she will apologize to my husband.”
Source: Peggy Noonan, Good Housekeeping, "Looking Forward", September 1, 1997.

About the divorce of Clarence and Kathy: "The breakup of the marriage appears to have been by mutual desire. Their 'mismatch of ambition,' as one friend had put it, became accentuated as their political views diverged and kathy pursued a career."
Source: Clarence Thomas: A Biography, page 251.