The United States of America is a nation shaped by the ideal that all people should be treated equally, have access to justice, and be free to choose the way they want to live. But even today, “everyone” doesn’t necessarily mean all.
In 1868, the lesser-known 14th Amendment was ratified, granting citizenship to all those born in the United States. While it doesn’t get as much “airtime” as the Second Amendment (the right to bear arms), it’s probably the most important of all. It promised true equality—especially to former slaves freed under the 13th Amendment after the Civil War.
It was a big step for African-Americans in their quest for true freedom. They finally have equal protection under the law, can now own property, have access to public education, and more. The 14th Amendment is one of the legacies of the Civil War, as is President Lincoln and his Emancipation Proclamation, and former slave Douglas Adams who exposed how slaves were treated in the South.
Unfortunately, after ratification, Reconstruction was beset by a series of violent atrocities, such as the Colfax massacre. These allow the pro-white Supreme Court to systematically undermine and undermine the equal rights promised by the Fourteenth Amendment. Jim Crow laws were quickly introduced, stripping black Americans of their social rights and promoting racial segregation in schools, churches, and more. Worse, it has made lynchings by anti-Black groups like the Klu Klux Klan the norm.
There was also a new revisionist ideology born in the South that also swept the country. Lost Cause ideology promotes beliefs in white supremacy and glorifies the past by claiming that there was a gentleman in the South, where slaves were not treated so badly. Hollywood has also channeled these sentiments through films like Gone with the Wind.
In the 1960s, African Americans were tired of being separated. Thus began the civil rights movement, which quickly gained momentum. It was led by Martin Luther King Jr., who urged President John F. Kennedy to take action by planning peaceful but strategic protests. His goal was to desegregate—a goal President Kennedy finally achieved in 1963.
As the 1970s dawned, a new class of disenfranchised Americans now demanded that they benefit from the promises of the 14th Amendment. At this point, women do not have the same rights as men because the state controls women’s bodies. Feminism arose and women’s movements were born, addressing changing interpretations of their constitutional rights and striving to control their destinies and choices in a changing society.
The 14th Amendment was a revolutionary law that continues to shape America’s quest for true liberty for all its citizens. Its key promises are still being fulfilled today as Americans work together to achieve equality.
Directed by: Kenny Leon, Reinaldo Marcus
