On Friday, March 30, 2012, the American Constitution Society for Law & Policy (ACS) and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture hosted a panel in celebration of Bayard Rustin’s hundredth birthday. Rustin was a civil rights trailblazer, a passionate advocate for equality, and an early champion for LGBT rights. Early in the Civil Rights Movement, he identified the larger issue of attaining social and economic equality, emphasizing broader “human rights” as being an essential second phase of the Civil Rights Movement. But, after a burst of stunning advances in the legal equality of all Americans, the United States never moved beyond civil rights toward the acceptance of a broader human rights framework. What kept the United States from embracing Rustin’s viewpoint and, more importantly, what can our society do to move toward greater equality in the future? A panel of civil rights scholars provided their thoughts and insight into these and other important questions.
Panel Discussion featured:
- Moderator, Catherine Albisa, Executive Director, National Economic & Social Rights Initiative
- Ida E. Jones, Ph.D., National Director of the Association of Black Women Historians
- Burt Neuborne, Professor of Civil Liberties, NYU Law, and Legal Director of the Brennan Center for Justice
- Kendall Thomas, Professor of Law at Columbia and Director of the Center for the Study of Law and Culture
On the morning after the U.S. Supreme Court completed three days of argument on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, ACS hosted a special media briefing with leading voices on the law. The cases raise fundamental questions about the meaning of Congress’s commerce and taxing powers, questions that reflect underlying debates about how the Constitution’s enduring principles should be interpreted to meet the needs of our modern society. Speakers teased out highlights from the arguments and provide in-depth analysis that considers the issues covered over all three days of arguments.
The panel discussion featured:
- Moderator, Caroline Fredrickson, President, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy
- Walter Dellinger, Partner, O’Melveny & Myers LLP, former U.S. Solicitor General
- Douglas F. Gansler, Attorney General for Maryland
- Maya Wiley, Founder and President, Center for Social Inclusion
ACS hosted A Long Road to Innocence: A Screening and Dialogue Around Mississippi Innocence. In February, a Mississippi district attorney secured a conviction for murders that were committed more than 20 years earlier. Many would suggest that justice, like an old adage offers, is better late than never. However, in this case, also more than 20 years ago, two men were deemed responsible for these murders; Levon Brooks was sentenced to life in prison and Kennedy Brewer was sentenced to death. The two men were exonerated and released from prison in 2008, having spent a combined 32 years incarcerated for crimes they did not commit. For Brooks, Brewer, and the victims, justice came very late, so is this even justice at all?
Mississippi Innocence explores this question and others as it tells the story of Brewer and Brooks. Have the close to 300 DNA exonerations since 1989 demonstrated the need for additional practices and policies that would prevent wrongful convictions? As eyewitness misidentification is the leading cause of wrongful convictions, did the Supreme Court just increase the likelihood of such convictions with its decision in Perry v. New Hampshire? Where are the checks on overzealous law enforcement and prosecutors, faulty forensic science, false confessions, and informants that also lead to wrongful convictions? Importantly, how can our criminal justice system chart a path forward that guarantees accountability and basic fundamental fairness for all?
ACS and Progress 2050 at the Center for American Progress (CAP) hosted Still Dreaming: Continuing the Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement through Criminal Justice Reform. In March, the nation will commemorate "Bloody Sunday" and the Selma to Montgomery marches of the Civil Rights Movement. This Movement represented a monumental shift in both the legal policies and social consciousness of America, and resulted in passage of landmark legislation such as the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act. But almost half a century later, deep layers of oppression have yet to be uprooted, a reality that is starkly evident in our criminal justice system today. People of color are still disproportionately profiled, incarcerated, and sentenced to death at alarming rates, leaving Martin Luther King’s dream of full racial equality and freedom yet unfulfilled. These disparities have led many to believe that criminal justice reform should be the civil rights movement of the 21st Century. Are there in fact litigators, policy advocates, and academics who are devoting their professional lives to continuing the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement through criminal justice work? If Dr. King were alive, would he prioritize criminal justice reform? Do criminal justice experts consider mass incarceration the new Jim Crow? Will this generation of civil rights and criminal justice advocates eradicate racial disparities in the criminal justice system in their lifetime? A panel of criminal justice and civil rights experts will consider these and other questions.
Opening Remarks: Vanessa Cárdenas, Director, Progress 2050 at the Center for American Progress
Introduction: Kanya Bennett, Director of Programs for Criminal and Civil Justice, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy
Panel Discussion will feature:
- Moderator, Deborah Berry, Reporter, Gannett News Service
- David Domenici, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
- Aderson B. François, Associate Professor, Howard University School of Law
- Christina Swarns, Director of the Criminal Justice Practice, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
- Tracy Velázquez, Executive Director, Justice Policy Institute
ACS hosted Toward a Unified Theory of Federalism: A Debate. This event was the first in a series of four debates intended to identify common ground through exploration of the fault lines within the progressive community on important topics of the day. Two scholars explored intra-progressive tensions in understanding federalism, the balance of power between the federal government and state/local governments. Historically and in many contemporary contexts (e.g., civil rights and voting rights), progressives have been vigorous defenders of national power, as opposed to state power. But within other contexts, particularly in the past decade, many progressive scholars have been articulating the need for a stronger vision of states’ rights, particularly because some attempts to address pressing problems (e.g., climate change) have been stymied at the federal level. In certain spaces, like immigration, progressives have both critiqued state initiatives as infringing upon federal prerogatives and applauded states/localities for other initiatives. How can such tensions be resolved, and what would a progressive theory of federalism look like?
Opening Remarks:
- Praveen Fernandes, Director of Programs for National Security, Technology, Labor and the Environment; American Constitution Society for Law and Policy
Moderator:
- Elizabeth B. Wydra, Chief Counsel, Constitutional Accountability Center
Featured Scholars:
Richard Thompson Ford, George E. Osborne Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
Edward L. Rubin, Professor of Law and Political Science, Vanderbilt University Law School
ACS hosted A Seat at the Table: Considering African American Women, Law, and Policy. The event featured:
Opening Remarks:
Caroline Fredrickson, President, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy
Introduction:
LaShawn Warren, Vice President of Policy Development and Programming, American Constitution Society for Law and Policy
Panel Discussion:
- Moderator, Krissah Thompson, National Staff Writer, Washington Post
- Lia Epperson, Associate Professor of Law and Director, SJD Program, American University Washington College of Law
- Chanelle Hardy, Senior Vice President for Policy and Executive Director, National Urban League Policy Institute
- Laura W. Murphy, Director, Washington Legislative Office, American Civil Liberties Union
