Creating a Multicultural Nation Without Racism
Constitution from Wallpaper Cave (edited); Signers of Declaration of Independence from Wikimedia Commons / Public domain
This collection of essays and resources explores the role of the United States Constitution in perpetuating racism. While many individuals and groups document inadequacies in the Constitution, this section addresses questions like: How does the structure of the government preserve racism? What kind of government structure will support a multicultural nation without racism? How do we use Article V of the Constitution to transform America?
How does the Constitution of the United States of America preserve and support racism? And what can we do about it? Answer: Change the Constitution.
We need to do many things to end racism, and unless America faces the role of the Constitution in supporting and preserving racism, we will never be able to end racism.
George Washington was not an anti-racist in the way we use the term today. He wasn’t even close. Washington believed, with the other founders of the United States of America, that white British men had a right and a responsibility to manage the society. So, how can Americans in the 21st century, who dream of America becoming a nation without racism, celebrate the life of George Washington on his birthday?
Voting is an important right and privilege in the United States of America. Although voting is not mandatory, I believe there is a moral obligation to participate in elections at all levels of government, from local to national.
U.S. election laws date back to Article 1 of the Constitution which outlines the structure of America's federal government. It also guarantees the states and people certain rights. Many constitutional amendments and federal laws have passed to help protect the right to vote and to make it easier for citizens to exercise that right.
"No right is more precious in a free country than that of having a voice in the election of those who make the laws under which, as good citizens, we must live. Other rights, even the most basic, are illusory if the right to vote is undermined." ~Justice Hugo Black, Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1,17 (1964)
We who believe that racism needs to end are working hard to overcome our own biases and working with others to identify both conscious and unconscious biases. Many are also addressing institutional racism in the communities and organizations we relate to. But a very well-funded project is working at odds with our projects and seeking to stop progress on tearing down barriers that non-white people experience, end privileges experienced by whites, and empower all identity groups to have full participation in the cultural, economic, and political life of America.
Elie Mystal has a wonderful way of making things that lawyers talk about regarding the Constitution sound like common sense. As the legal analyst and justice correspondent for “The Nation,” an MSNBC legal commentator, and the legal editor of the “More Perfect” podcast on the Supreme Court for Radiolab, he argues for the American people to take the country away from the conservatives.
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