Yesterday, we told you about Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman unveiling a portrait of John Marshall Harlan, who served as Kentucky's 14th attorney general and a U.S. Supreme Court justice.

He was known for supporting civil rights laws that his colleagues opposed.

Following the unveiling, Coleman and biographer Peter Canellos spoke at the old Kentucky state Capitol.

Most of Kentucky's living attorneys general were there, and two of them talked about Marshall's legacy.

It was nice to be here alongside former attorneys general to help memorialize and help dedicate this moment for the work and efforts of justice.

John Marshall Harlan.

John Marshall.

Harlan was really an important and consequential figure in the history of this country and certainly in the history of race relations in this country, which of course has been a difficulty for us as Americans throughout the history of the nation.

And it still remains so today.

But what he did in retrospect, when we can look back at it from 100 plus years is really courageous.

He made decisions that were courageous in their time.

They were far seeing in their time, and they have been vindicated by history.

He was on the right side of history.

Well, his legacy is summed up in the title of the book and his character characterization of him as the great dissenter.

Here's somebody who, on some of the most challenging legal cases, when black folks were advocating for their rights, he was on the right side of history and certainly grateful for his tenure on the Supreme Court and his decisions at the time he was in the dissent.

But ultimately, over time, as Mr. Canellos talked about, he proved to be on the right side of history, and we were better for it.

John Marshall Harlan was not appreciated sufficiently in his day.

He ran for governor, I think, a couple of times here in Kentucky, and got trounced.

So Kentuckians at the time did not appreciate that him the way they should, and that's how it often ends, is with heroes in our midst.

We don't realize the heroic nature of some of the things that they do, and they're not properly appreciated until much later.

So it was and is with John Marshall.

Harlan.

Some bipartisan commentary there.

John Marshall Harlan shares a birthday with the Commonwealth of Kentucky on June 1st.