It was not Thomas’ finest hour. Did he think Bork was black? Or any other pick who was considered conservative? He was not attacked because he was black.
Actually, the fact that Thomas was black had a GREAT deal to do with the attacks--as Thomas became the highest ranking black man in office and a conservative to boot.
Yes he was attacked because he was black and he was attacked because he was conservative. As a blackman he threatened a core Democrat voting block. If we were socialist black would not be a problem. But the threat posed by the sum of black and conservative is greater than its parts.