As Black History Month comes to a close, three congressmen gathered to celebrate the man they dubbed “the greatest living American,” Justice Clarence Thomas.
“Justice Thomas is just a great American who has done so much for our country,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told The Daily Signal. “He’s the American story—from such humble beginnings to the United States Supreme Court shows what hard work with perseverance can mean in our great country.”
Jordan, along with Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Dan Bishop, R-N.C., provided introductory remarks at a showing of the documentary “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words” on Feb. 28 at The Heritage Foundation. (The Daily Signal is the multimedia news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.)
“I think he [Thomas] is arguably the greatest living American,” Roy told The Daily Signal. “He is a role model to me and others that are lawyers that have come of age while he’s been on the bench.”
As a man of faith, Bishop said Thomas inspires him. His commitment to fidelity to the Constitution shows his courage.
“Clarence Thomas is one of the genuine American heroes, and what stands out the most about him is an intellectual rigor, his commitment to principle, the clarity of his thought as a justice on the Supreme Court,” Bishop said. “All these things are certainly important.”
“But you have to look at Clarence Thomas’ life and know that his courage can only be predicated on his life of faith in Jesus Christ,” Bishop continued. “He would not be able to have withstood what he’s withstood with the grace and calmness with which he’s done it except for the depth of that faith.”
Bishop said he admired Thomas’ ability to rise above the false accusations brought against him in his nomination hearings with good cheer, friendliness, and care for others.
“The most significant accomplishment of Clarence Thomas has been to withstand perhaps the most brutal maligning of an honorable public figure across many years, in spite of faithful and honorable service,” Bishop shared.
Documentary director Michael Pack told The Daily Signal that the event marked a perfect end to Black History Month. Pack said the movie should be shown in schools as part of Black History Month curriculum rather than Black Lives Matter’s materials, which are laden with critical race theory (an academic lens encouraging students to see America as systemically racist).
“Surely there’s room for one that is a conservative, black American and a great American, period,” he said. “So, I feel strongly that it should be part of Black History Month at schools across the country every year, and I hope we can get some progress by next year, next February.”
Pack worked with Mark Paoletta to turn the 26 hours of interviews filmed for the two-hour documentary into a book, released June 21, 2022.
“February is Black History Month,” Paoletta said, “and we thought it was a wonderful opportunity to honor and celebrate someone who I consider to be our greatest Supreme Court justice and greatest living American, Justice Clarence Thomas, and the best way to have people see that amazing life is to Michael’s film, ‘Created Equal.’”
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