White progressives do not have the moral authority to excommunicate a black man from his race because they disagree with him.
And those—regardless of background—who join in the charade or remain silent are guilty of enabling this abuse.
We, the undersigned, condemn the barrage of racist, vicious, and ugly personal attacks that we are witnessing on Clarence Thomas—a sitting Supreme Court justice. Whether it is calling him a racist slur, an “Uncle Tom,” or questioning his “blackness” over his jurisprudence, the disparagement of this man, of his faith, and of his character, is abominable.
Regardless of where one stands on Justice Thomas’ personal or legal opinions, he is among the pantheon of black trailblazers throughout American history and is a model of integrity, scholarship, steadfastness, resilience, and commitment to the Constitution of the United States of America.
For three decades, Thomas has served as a model for our children. He has long been honored and celebrated by black people in this country, and his attackers do not speak for the majority of blacks.
He is entirely undeserving of the vitriol directed at him. Character assassination has become too convenient a tool for eviscerating those who dare dissent from the prevailing agenda, especially when it is a black man who is dissenting.
This is not about the content of the court’s decisions or Justice Thomas’ personal views; some of the undersigned agree with his judicial decisions, and some do not. We speak out—as black people and Americans—to condemn these attacks and support Justice Thomas, because to remain silent would be to implicitly endorse these poisonous schemes, as well as his destruction.
Sincerely,
Glenn Loury, professor of economics, Brown University, Providence, R.I.
and
Robert Woodson Sr., founder and president, the Woodson Center, Washington, D.C.
Co-signatories:
Charles Love, executive director, Seeking Educational Excellence, New York City
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, research fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford, Calif.
W. Barclay Allen, Havre de Grace, Md.
Christopher Arps, co-founder, Move-On-Up.org, St. Louis
Dr. Lisa Babbage, Babbage America, Suwanee, Ga.
Leon Benjamin, pastor, Life Harvest Church, Richmond, Va.
Claston Bernard, Olympian, author, former congressional candidate, Gonzales, La.
Shamike Bethea, Fredrick Douglass Foundation of North Carolina, Fayetteville, N.C.
Harold A. Black, emeritus professor, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tenn.
Kenneth Blackwell, chairman, Conservative Action Project, Ohio
Tony Blount, member, Coalition of Concerned Freedmen, New York City
Jordan R. Bolds, New York City
Robert Bracy, president, Pinnacle Business Management, New York CIty
David Brooks, former Rich Township, Ill., Republican committeeman, Indianapolis
Janice Rogers Brown, Gardnerville, Nevada
John Sibley Butler, Austin, Texas
Don Carey, city councilman, Chesapeake, Va.
Tess Chakkalakal, associate professor, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine
Jeff Charles, podcaster, writer, political commentator, Jacksonville, Fla.
Gabrielle Clark, Houston
Adam B. Coleman, founder of Wrong Speak Publishing, Piscataway, N.J.
Melanie Collette, host, “Money Talk with Melanie,” Cape May Court House, N.J.
Ward Connerly, president of the American Civil Rights Institute, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
D. Daniels, Georgia
Kira A. Davis, deputy managing editor, RedState, Ladera Ranch, Calif.
Rod Dorilas, GOP candidate, Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Patricia Rae Easley, Black Excellence Media, Chicago
Larry Elder, president of Elder for America PAC, Los Angeles
The Rev. Joe Ellison Jr., City Chaplain Ministries, Richmond
Melvin Everson, former state representative, Snellville, Ga.
Nique Fajors, St. Louis
Yaya J. Fanusie, chief strategist, Cryptocurrency AML Strategies, Columbia, Md.
George Farrell, chair of BlakPac, Washington, D.C.
Chavis Jennings, Highland, Ind.
Casey Felin, ThatGirlCasey Media, Philadelphia
LaTasha H. Fields, Team Illinois, Chicago
Marie Fischer, JEXIT, Baltimore
Kali Fontanilla, founder of Exodus Institute, Sarasota, Fla.
Roland Fryer, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
Edwin A. Fynn, Merrillville, Ind.
Verlon Galloway, Gary, Ind.
Dr. Derryck Green, Sacramento, Calif.
Kermit E. Hairston, Stone Mountain, Ga.
Christopher Harris, executive director of Unhyphenated America, Fairfax County, Va.
Clarence Henderson, president, Frederick Douglass Foundation of North Carolina, High Point, N.C.
Ismael Hernandez, founder/president, Freedom & Virtue Institute, Fort Myers, Fla.
Curtis Hill, former Indiana attorney general, Elkhart, Ind.
Deidre Hulett, Gary, Ind.
Daniel Idfresne, 18-year-old political commentator, New York City
Niger Innis, chairman, Congress of Racial Equality, Las Vegas
Kevin Jackson, founder, Kevin Jackson Network, Gilbert, Ariz.
Nikki Johnson, Md., Cleveland
Leonydus Johnson, host of Informed Dissent, Oak Hill, Ohio
Diante Johnson, president, Black Conservative Federation, Arlington, Va.
Christopher Jones, pastor, Atlanta
Seneca Jones, Dallas
Khansa Jones-Muhammad, Los Angeles
Dr. Alveda King, Concerned Citizen, Atlanta
Lisa Kinnemore, Stone Mountain, Ga.
Garry Kinnemore, Stone Mountain, Ga.
Matthew P. Kreutz, Frederick Douglass Foundation of New York, Medina, N.Y.
Chaplain Ayesha Kreutz, Frederick Douglass Foundation of New York, Medina, N.Y.
Princess Kuevor, Columbus, Ohio
Michael Lancaster, Frederick Douglass Foundation, Stone Mountain, Ga.
Mitchell Lomax, Ellicott City, Md.
Pamela Denise Long, national coordinator, Coalition of Concerned Freedmen, St. Louis
Barrington D. Martin II, Atlanta
Linda Matthews, Frederick Douglass Foundation Ohio, Cincinnati
Kevin McGary, co-founder, Every Black Life Matters, Dallas
John McWhorter, New York City
Shemeka Michelle, author, Durham, N.C.
Cashmere Miller, Atlanta
Montrail Miller, FDF, Georgia
Lucas E. Morel, professor of politics, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va.
Brian Mullins, Black Community Collaborative, Chicago
Scherie Murray, director, Unite the Fight PAC, Laurelton, N.Y.
Lorenzo Neal, New Bethel AME Church, Jackson, Miss.
Dean Nelson, Frederick Douglass Foundation, Washington, D.C.
Morris W. O’Kelly, on-air personality, KFI-AM 640/iHeartRadio, Los Angeles
Tim Parrish, founder, Right Appeal PAC, Woodbridge, Va.
Lonnie Poindexter, LionChasersNetwork.org, Washington, DC
Jon Ponder, Chief Executive Officer, Hope For Prisoners, Las Vegas
Wilfred Reilly, Kentucky State University, Frankfort, Ky.
Deon Richmond, Studio City, Calif.
Donique Rolle, educator, Orlando, Fla.
Ian V. Rowe, senior visiting fellow, the Woodson Center, New York City
Sheryl R. Sellaway, founder, Righteous PR Agency, Johns Creek, Ga.
Erec Smith, associate professor of rhetoric, York College/co-founder, Free Black Thought, York, Pa.
Dr. Felicity Joy Solomon, Shorewood, Ill.
Delano Squires, contributor, Blaze Media, Washington, D.C.
Rebekah Star, New York City
Carol M. Swain, Be the People News, Nashville, Tenn.
David Sypher Jr., political strategist, Rahway, N.J.
Linda Lee Tarver, president, Tarver Consulting, Lansing, Mich.
Greg Thomas, Stratford, Conn.
Roderick Threats, Black Patriot Media Group, Palm Beach, Fla.
Jimmy Lee Tillman II, founder/president, Martin Luther King Republicans, Chicago
Stephanie W. Trussell, Republican candidate for lieutenant governor of Illinois, Lisle, Ill.
Jesse C. Turner, senior pastor, the Historic Elm Grove Baptist Church, Pine Bluff, Ark.
Bettye H. Tyler, Marvellous Works Inc., Jackson, Miss.
Helen Tyner, Parents for a Better Englewood, Chicago
Dr. Eric M. Wallace, Freedom’s Journal Institute, Flossmoor, Ill.
Marcus Watkins, Michigan Republican Assembly, Romulus, Mich.
Curtis Watkins, Uplift & Restore Community Development Corp., Michigan City, Ind.
Cindy Werner, state ambassador, Frederick Douglass Foundation of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Devon Westhill, president/general counsel, Center for Equal Opportunity, Washington, D.C.
Jason Whitlock, host of “Fearless with Jason Whitlock,” Nashville, Tenn.
Christopher Wilson, Indianapolis, Ind.
Kuna Winding, Chicago
Corrine Winding, Chicago
Aryca Woodson, Communications Consultant, Indiana
John Wood Jr., opinion columnist, USA Today, Los Angeles
Michael E. Wooten, former administrator, Federal Procurement Policy, Woodbridge, Va.
This column first appeared at RealClearPolitics and is distributed by RealClearWire.
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