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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2002

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, the only African-American on the court, broke his customary silence during oral arguments on Wednesday to speak about cross-burning.

"We had almost 100 years of lynching and activity in the South by the Knights of Camellia and the Ku Klux Klan, and this was a reign of terror, and the [burning] cross was a symbol of that reign of terror," he said, as reported by The Washington Post.

The case centers on a Virginia law that prohibits cross-burning. A Ku Klux Klan leader and two men were convicted and sentenced to jail for breaking the law.

Get the Story:
High Court Hears Thomas On KKK Rite (The Washington Post 12/12)
Justices weigh burning of cross (The Washington Times 12/12)
An Intense Attack by Justice Thomas on Cross-Burning (The New York Times 12/12)
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