A petition drive has begun to include Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in the new $540 million National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
The petition was created Oct. 6 by Megan Thomas of Reston, Va., on StandUnited.com, CNS News reports. More than 6,300 people had signed on as of Friday evening.
She is not related to Thomas, 68, who was confirmed to the Supreme Court in 1991 after a bruising hearing that included sexual harassment allegations by law professor Anita Hill.
Hill is included in the museum's exhibit — and Thomas is referenced twice within the context of her testimony against Thomas at the hearings.
The petition includes a letter to museum director Lonnie Bunch III.
"Justice Thomas is the longest-serving African American Supreme Court Justice in our nation's history," Angela Morabito, the website's senior campaign, told CNS. "StandUnited users are commenting on the petition about how they want to see Smithsonian embrace history, instead of selectively editing it.
"Justice Thomas has a uniquely American story, in all its complexity: He grew up in the segregated South, and is now the second-most-powerful African-American man in government," she added. "Petition-signers think he deserves credit for his extraordinary contributions to American government and constitutional scholarship."
Conservatives have slammed the museum, opened on Sept. 24, for excluding Thomas while praising Hill.
"[Do] black conservatives need not apply?" former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin asked in a Facebook post earlier this month.
"Those . . . who chose to ignore one of our most honored and accomplished African Americans must hear our concerns and address the inexplicable snub."
Linda St. Thomas, the Smithsonian's chief spokesman, told CNS last week: "There are many compelling personal stories about African Americans who have become successful in various fields, and, obviously, Associate Justice Thomas is one of them.
"However, we cannot tell every story in our inaugural exhibitions.
"We will continue to collect and interpret the breadth of the African American experience," St. Thomas said.
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