Stonewall Jackson or Clarence Thomas?

The Republican majority in the Georgia State Legislature wants to erect a statue of one Georgia’s most prominent and accomplished lawmakers, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who was confirmed to the court in 1991 after hearings that included Anita Hill’s allegations that he sexually harassed her. Democrats vowed to fight the idea, with some saying it was an insult to Hill and victims of harassment. GOP State Senator Jason Anavitarte, is leading the charge to honor Thomas, who was born in Pin Point Georgia, and is currently the longest-serving justice on the Supreme Court. Thomas is one of three Justices who has recently taken the unusual step of arguing publicly that the court’s rulings are the result of careful consideration, and not simply doctrinaire Federalist Society dogma. Georgia Representative Donna McCleod, a black woman, isn’t buying it. “I’d rather them keep a Confederate monument than a statue of Clarence Thomas,” she says, “that’s how much I don’t like the idea.”