When the Smithsonian opened the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2016, Justice Clarence Thomas was conspicuously omitted. Later, the museum added an exhibit, which according to many falls short of honoring Justice Thomas. Even today, it’s impossible to find him on the National Museum of African American History and Culture website.
How is it possible that our nation purposely omits Justice Thomas from recognition when all the evidence demonstrates he exemplifies the meaning of America?
As National Review wrote in 2016, “If you were looking for a figure who personified the humiliations and triumphs of black Americans, you could hardly do better than Clarence Thomas, the son of a poor, Gullah-speaking family on the Georgia coast, a man who was not quite fluent in anything that passes muster as English until his adulthood – who , nonetheless, found his way into college, into the Yale law school, and the Reagan administration, whose shortcomings and errors he admonished fearlessly.”
Aside from President Obama, Justice Thomas is without question the most consequential black American in the past 30 years. His omission by the Smithsonian was a political statement, but the “woke” elites can’t snuff out the truth – light will always find it. Fortunately, Justice Thomas has spoken in a documentary title Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words, despite efforts to silence his extraordinary contribution to our nation.
Two Roads Diverge
The documentary tells Clarence Thomas’s story. There is hardly a man or woman alive who has persevered though more hardship on the path to greatness.
Justice Thomas began as a poor kid in a poor southern community. At an early age his mother sent him to live with his grandfather – a tough love type of man who taught young Thomas hard work and self-reliance. From Catholic school, seminary, Holy Cross, Yale law school, and the early days of Thomas’s career, the documentary follows a transformation from practical conservative to militant liberal and then back to the conservative side as a principled, thoughtful jurist.
Among the most memorable stories from Thomas’s life was when his grandfather kicked him out for quitting seminary school. His grandfather wasn’t raising a quitter and gave him a few hours to pack his bags for good. During those days, Thomas’s views became rebellious and anti-American, but his grandfather wouldn’t tolerate it. It didn’t take long for the tough love to open Thomas’s eyes.
The early life conversion started slow and then began to grow. By the time he entered the Reagan administration, Thomas was a stalwart of the conservative legal movement. The core of his originalist constitutional philosophy is grounded in the belief that natural law is the firmest argument against slavery. In his view, the founding principles of our nation state the case for freedom and equality to the greatest degree possible. Those principles, in his estimation, are worth dying for and he was willing to face scrutiny for it.
“A high-tech lynching”
Thomas’ rising acclaim earned him a nomination to the United States Supreme Court by President George H. W. Bush. The process moved swiftly until a last-ditch effort to derail his matriculation to the highest court in the land.
“A high-tech lynching” is how Thomas described the Anita Hill testimony during his Supreme Court nomination process. As the Democrats did with Bret Kavanagh nearly 30 years later, at the last hour they hurled unsubstantiated allegations of sexual harassment at Justice Thomas. The smears did not work. He vowed not to quit. He told the Senate Judiciary committee he didn’t care a thing about serving on the Supreme Court, but “I’d rather die than withdraw from the process.” And so, he persevered as his grandfather taught him.
The appearance of then Senator Joe Biden as the committee chairman questioning Thomas makes the documentary more riveting. Somehow the juxtaposition of a wily Senator Biden compared with the frail President Biden seen today, brings focus to the unseriousness of liberal attacks.
A Model American
It’s hard not to respect Justice Thomas – even those who disagree with his judicial philosophy. His life is nothing less than miraculous. The hand of providence continues opening doors for a man who represents much of the conservative movement.
Unlike the Smithsonian, Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words, let’s us hear from the man himself. It’s hard to imagine why liberal elites are so threatened by him, but they are. Justice Thomas has many character traits we all want for our children – none greater than his work ethic and power to persevere. It is said of great men and women that they don’t have a job, they find a calling in life. There is no better example of a man who was called to duty than Clarence Thomas.
