Republican Sen. Ted Cruz says the Smithsonian has made a mistake by not including the "extraordinary accomplishments" of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in the new National Museum of African American History and Culture.
In a letter to leaders of the Smithsonian Institution on Monday, the Texas senator says he was "deeply disturbed" to learn that Thomas is only briefly noted in the context of his contentious 1991 confirmation hearings when he faced allegations he sexually harassed Anita Hill when they were colleagues in the federal government.
Cruz said the description might give museum-goers a distorted view of the justice, who Cruz says "survived segregation, defeated discrimination, and ascended all the way to the Supreme Court."
A spokesman for the Smithsonian did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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