Ava DuVernay announced Thursday that she has made a documentary for Netflix on the 14th Amendment, which gave liberty and rights to formerly enslaved people following the Civil War, and which has come under legal attack from President Donald Trump.
In past eras of American politics, the people, through their representatives in Congress, have shaped and settled constitutional meaning, rebuking the court when it overstepped its role as a legitimate actor.
“But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States….” -Section 4, 14th Amendment
Based on oral arguments, the Supreme Court seems poised to block Trump’s attempt to end birthright citizenship. Six justices, three Republicans, scoffed at his efforts to overrule birthright citizenship rights spelled out in the 14th Amendment.
The abolitionist vision of national and egalitarian citizenship that the radical Republicans embedded into the Constitution was forged in direct opposition to the notion that citizenship is a privilege rather than a natural right bestowed by birth.
How Stephen Miller’s personal and political war on the 14th Amendment conflicts with the larger Reconstruction story and the vision of an egalitarian society for all who claim this nation.
The ruling, when it comes, will be disastrous for Black voters and for Democrats.
Mamdani Wins With Positivity | Stephen Colbert. Proud To Be an American | George Carlin. Birthright Citizenship Instant Response! Zohran Mamdani's Full Victory Speech. Woody Guthrie’s Fight with Trump.
Following Justice Sotomayor’s “direction,” public interest groups litigating to protect Birthright Citizenship filed a new class action suit just hours after the Supreme Court ruled against them
The three dissenting justices use stark language to frame the threat: “The Court’s decision is nothing less than an open invitation for the Government to bypass the Constitution. ... No right is safe in the new legal regime the Court creates.”
Spread the word