Clarence Thomas chokes up as he reveals promise he made after grandparents’ sudden deaths

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas choked up recalling a promise he made after his grandparents’ deaths during a wide-ranging conversation about economist Thomas Sowell’s influence on his thinking and views on Black Americans.

"When both my grandparents died suddenly in 1983, the decision I made was to live the rest of my life as a memorial to theirs," Thomas shared with Hoover Institution fellow Peter Robinson during an on-stage discussion.

The conversation paused for a few seconds as Thomas gathered his composure.

"And the point I'm going to make is that is the way I feel about Professor Sowell," Thomas said.

JUSTICE THOMAS REVEALS THIS ELITE INSTITUTION IS ‘OFF LIMITS’ TO HIM " ‘THAT'S THE WORLD WE'RE IN’ "All right," Robinson said.

"Watch this because I'm going to lighten the mood here." Thomas was raised by his maternal grandparents in segregated Savannah, Georgia , after his father left when he was 7 years old.

His grandfather was raised by a freed slave.

"We actually lived — farmed on a part of that plantation, and we grew up every summer, we farmed on that plantation," Thomas said.

Neither of Thomas' maternal grandparents ever set foot in a high school.

Thomas said his grandfather, Myers Anderson, had only nine months of formal education, and his grandmother, Christine Anderson, had only a sixth-grade education.

SEN TIM SCOTT: MY FAMILY'S JOURNEY SHOWS AMERICA'S FOUNDING PROMISE IS ALIVE AND STRONG "Even though my grandfather only had nine months of education, the crown jewel was education.

My grandmother went to the sixth grade, for her the crown jewel," Thomas said.

Thomas described his grandmother as a "saintly woman" and his grandfather as a "great man" who taught him the importance of self-reliance and hard work.

"It wasn't taking the measure of what you don't have.