| Photo by S. Beth Atkin |
Thelton Henderson Interview: Conversations with History; Institute of International Studies, UC Berkeley
| Photo by S. Beth Atkin |
Page 8 of 8
If young people are studying the Civil Rights Movement today, what lessons should they learn, do you think, from that dramatic period in American history?
I think one lesson is never give up fighting for your rights, because I think a great deal happened then and a lot of brave young people were willing to put their safety on the line in a cause that was just. I think there are still causes like that existing. I think perseverance is important, involvement in community activities, again, is important. I think those are some important lessons to learn out of that movement.
What if there's a young person out there who says, "Look, I want to be a lawyer, but there are really no chances for me to get there from where I am now." What lessons should they read in your story?
Oh, I would say, "Nonsense. You can make it because I made it." And if you had told me when I was growing up in Watts and didn't have a member of my family who'd ever gone to college that I would some day be a federal judge, I'm not sure I would have believed it then, but it happened. As I said, I think my mother was right. Study hard and be ready for an opportunity and it will come along.
I'm reading from what you're saying that these experiences that you went through as a young person were very important for giving you the background for being that kind of judge that you are today.
Well I think so. I think that's absolutely right. I think I've gotten some insights from these experiences which shape who I am as a judge in a number of ways. I think I bring some compassion. I was on television last night; there was a brief article in the legal newspaper today that I was criticizing the sentencing guidelines, feeling that the sentences for certain kinds of crimes are much too harsh, and I believe that to be true. We're in a period, I think a punitive period, where legislators want to just put people in jail and there's very little rehabilitation. Now this [reaction] is born of my own background and my own beliefs.
In the beginning you said it was your mother who said to stick to the books, stick to education. So if there's somebody in their background in their life who's saying that, they should listen.
They should listen very closely. Mother knows best. Or sometimes father knows best if he's saying it.
The thread running through your story is really education. That was the key to making the difference for you.
Education was absolutely the key for me. Without the education I wouldn't be where I was. And I tell the story of my mother one day coming home when I was beginning to be a pretty good football player. The other kids on the team, they'd go play at night and go to the parties. And I had homework. Because we had two tracks in our school, academic and shop. In shop you'd take print shop, and that was it, no homework. And I thought, gee that's neat. And it's clear to me that if I had gone that route, when Mr. MacClellen came on the field that day I wouldn't have been ready to go to Cal. I was ready to go to Cal when he found me and helped me do that.
What do you say to a student who says, "But I don't know how to prepare. What I should be doing now?" Any thoughts for them other than just to follow the path of their schooling?
If the kid really means it, there'll be people who will help. There was always someone to help me and I've mentioned some of them. There are teachers who will help. They will tell you how to do it, because I didn't know how to do it. I told you, Mr. MacClellen had to help me fill out the application to get into college. There are people who will help. And I would say, "Listen, if you really want to do it, if you really want to get out of whatever community you're in and go to college, I'm absolutely convinced it can be done." I wasn't the smartest kid at Jeff, and I've told that story, although very few of us got out of Jeff and went to college. You can do it.
Will there be a role for civil rights lawyers in the future?
I think there will. I think there will be a role for civil rights lawyers because I think there are still civil rights problems to be solved.
One final question. How does a judge relax?
Well I love to fish. Fishing I call my sanity time. I go fishing as often as I can and there's something very quieting and calming about sitting on a beautiful body of water, putting on your fly, throwing it out there, just watching it drift down stream. That's all you're thinking about. And every now and then a trout will grab it and you pull it in. That's what I love to do.
And because of your judicial background and temperament I can assume you never exaggerate the size of what you've caught.
I never exaggerate; they're all that big.
Judge Henderson, thank you very much for coming back to Berkeley for this Conversation with History.
My pleasure, thank you.
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