Even though Chief Justice John Roberts is the one who wrote the opinion of the court in Thursday’s landmark 6-3 decision ruling racial preferences in college admissions unconstitutional, Justice Clarence Thomas has received substantial attention for his eloquent concurring opinion.

However, many seem to think he is the only black leader or intellectual who holds these views. But this is not the case.

First, let’s take a look at the concurring opinion receiving so much attention.

Replying to Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s dissent, Thomas wrote, “As she sees things, we are all inexorably trapped in a fundamentally racist society, with the original sin of slavery and the historical subjugation of black Americans still determining our lives today.”

He continued, writing that Jackson “would replace the second Founders’ vision [of equality under the law] with an organizing principle based on race. In fact, in her view, almost all of life’s outcomes may be unhesitatingly ascribed to race.”

In effect, Thomas points out that Jackson “claims [that group disparities lock] blacks into a seemingly perpetual inferior caste. Such a view is irrational; it is an insult to individual achievement and cancerous to young minds seeking to push through barriers, rather than consign themselves to permanent victimhood."

Concluding that these racial preference policies “fly in the face of our colorblind Constitution and our Nation’s equality ideal” and “are plainly — and boldly — unconstitutional,” he writes that he holds out “enduring hope that this country will live up to its principles so clearly enunciated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States: that all men are created equal, are equal citizens, and must be treated equally before the law.”

The attention paid to Thomas’s opinion is certainly well-deserved. And he is not alone among black politicians, journalists, or intellectuals in his views.

Presidential hopeful Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) called it “a good day for America.” He said, “This is a day where we understand that being judged by the content of our character, not by the color of our skin, is what our Constitution wants,” and, “We are continuing to form a more perfect union. The progress in our nation is palpable.”

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) had a similar attitude. He tweeted , “Today’s ruling is a massive win against the left’s equity agenda that seeks to achieve ‘equality’ through equal outcomes, not equal access. There was clearly a time when affirmative action was needed to end racial discrimination, but that time is over. The High Court rightly ended this policy. Merit and achievement must be the #1 attribute we all desire.”

Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) wrote that affirmative action “doesn’t bring us closer to a more just society, it deepens our divisions and is the opposite of progress.”

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, the president of the American Civil Rights Institute, Ward Connerly, wrote that we as Americans must “claw our way back to our values and the vision embraced by Lincoln and JFK. Ending race-based affirmative action is an important first step in that mission.”

Liberal civil rights hero Bayard Rustin and celebrated conservative intellectuals such as Thomas Sowell and Shelby Steele, both of whom have written extensively on the subject, share much of Thomas’s sentiments. In fact, Sowell’s ideas have had a real impact on Thomas’s thinking, and the justice cited Sowell in his concurring opinion.

The list of black intellectuals or journalists whom I could also mention here is long: Brown University Professor Glenn Loury, the late George Mason University professor Walter Williams, American Enterprise Institute Fellow Ian Rowe, Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Riley, and writer Coleman Hughes are just a few. I could go on. Much of the media, however, has decided not to highlight these voices.

One may point out these are mostly politically or ideologically motivated conservatives. But the most recent poll on the issue shows 71% of black Americans do not believe race should be used as a factor in college admissions. An overwhelming majority.

It is important to highlight that not all black politicians, intellectuals, and Americans are devastated by the Supreme Court decision. To assume they are is wholly incorrect. There is a long tradition of black conservatism and to ignore that is to willfully leave out a legitimate part of black history.

Moving beyond race-conscious policies is not only designed to ensure our laws match up to our founding ideals; it is also supposed to allow us to also move past the assumptions some still make based solely on the color of one’s skin.

Jack Elbaum is a summer 2023 Washington Examiner fellow.