On June 24th, the Supreme Court of the United States severely endangered the lives of women across the entire country by overturning the ruling of Roe v. Wade (1973). A driving force behind this decision was Justice Clarence Thomas, the far-right conservative judge, who has long been an opponent of reproductive rights. Justice Thomas has also been accused of sexual misconduct by lawyer Anita Hill, who testified before Congress in 1991 during Justice Thomas' nomination process.

Upon the decision of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) - the case that overturned Roe v. Wade - Justice Thomas stated that he believed the Supreme Court should consider overturning past rulings in cases such as Lawrence v. Texas (2003) and Obergefell v. Hodges (2015). The Justice's comments towards these two landmark cases can only mean one thing - the safety of same-sex marriage is at an incredibly high risk of being restricted once again in the United States.

In 2010 (long before the aforementioned rulings and comments), the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) dedicated the Clarence Thomas Center for Historic Preservation in honor of Justice Thomas. The building was formerly an orphanage and convent for the Missionary Sisters of the Franciscan order, and as a boy, Justice Thomas was an atlar boy here. 

By most accounts, SCAD's student body is comprised of 69% women, and an overwhelming majority of students at the school identify themselves as members of the LGBTQ+ community; for the tuition of the student body to support the maintenance and upkeep of a building named after a man who actively tries to rob the student body of their fundamental rights is unacceptable. The signatures on this petition represent the agreement of SCAD's student body that the hall should be renamed before the end of 2022 in recognition of a more worthy individual, one who has actively enhanced the experience of SCAD students, or the city of Savannah as a whole. Here are some ideas:

The Troy A. Gustafson Center for Historic Preservation

The L. Blaine Hammond Center for Historic Preservation

The Ralph Mark Gilbert Center for Historic Preservation

The Curtis Cooper Center for Historic Preservation

The Allan Jaffe Center for Historic Preservation

Please understand that this is not an attempt to ignore the history of the building, or at all discredit the work of SCAD, it is simply an expression of dissatisfaction towards the injustices being made against a large portion of SCAD's population. This won't solve everything, but it is important.