Congrats Katie!
05.03.2026 16:55
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Gans on Black Conventions during Reconstruction
David Gans, Constitutional Accountability Center, has published Forgotten Framers: Black Conventions and the Second Founding, which is forthcoming in the Stanford Law Review:
This Article tells the forgotten story of the Black Conventions of the Reconstruction era, examining convenings of Black Americans across the nation during the time when the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments were under consideration. Invoking the promises of liberty and equality contained in the Declaration of Independence, these conventions insisted on Black Americans' right to respect and dignity, fought for control of their bodies and their right to be full members of the body politic, including at the polls, and demanded an end to racial prejudice and violence that kept them in a subjugated status. Through their relentless activism, Black Americans repeatedly pressed white Americans to make the United States into a multiracial democracy that guaranteed fundamental rights, protection, and equal citizenship as an American birthright. In large measure, the Amendments that produced our Second Founding bore the imprint of this constitutional activism.
While critical to understanding the meaning of the Reconstruction Amendments, this history has never gotten its due. Dominant judicial and scholarly accounts of the text and history of the Reconstruction Amendments privilege elite white understandings, presenting history as if white voices were the only ones that mattered. As this Article demonstrates, this impoverishes our understanding of the Reconstruction Amendments and ignores how the Black Convention movement of the Reconstruction era shaped the transformational guarantees in those Amendments. Grappling with the work of the Black Conventions can help generate an inclusive constitutionalism, deepen our understanding of the text and history of the Reconstruction Amendments, provide resources to resolve current constitutional disputes, and help recover fundamental constitutional principles the Supreme Court has long betrayed.
--Dan Ernst
05.03.2026 06:49
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The Supreme Court's eagerness - and willingness - to just do what they want (especially on the shadow docket), notwithstanding normal legal processes & their own jurisdiction continues to be revealing.
(As does Sam Alito's manipulation/misrepresentation of the facts.)
03.03.2026 14:46
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The Trump administration’s executive order claiming to end birthright citizenship is unconstitutional. The text and history of the Fourteenth Amendment make that clear.
27.02.2026 15:48
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Constitutional Accountability Center and William & Mary Law School's Digital Democracy Lab invite you to AI & Constitutional Democracy at 250. Monday, March 2, 3 PM ET, virtual event.
Featuring: Catherine Powell, CAC Scholar-in-Residence and Professor at Fordham Law School; Margaret Hu, Digital Democracy Lab Direct and Professor at W&M Law School.
Moderator: Praveen Fernandes, CAC Vice President.
From facial recognition to fertility trackers, digital surveillance can create and replicate inequality. Join CAC VP Praveen Fernandes, Professor @catherinepowellesq.bsky.social, and Professor Margaret Hu for a virtual conversation on AI and civil rights: www.theusconstitution.org/events/ai-an...
27.02.2026 20:56
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So sorry for your loss Rick.
25.02.2026 16:07
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Hiram R. Revels, first Black person to serve in US Congress, took his seat representing Mississippi in the US Senate on this day in 1870. That state’s legislature elected him to serve remainder of a Senate term (through 3/3/1871) interrupted by the state’s secession & the Civil War.
Image: LOC.
25.02.2026 12:22
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Can't wait to read!
25.02.2026 14:52
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ICE took their papers—and won’t give them back
Immigrants are being released from detention without documents proving their status.
New: Immigrants in MN are being released from detention without their IDs, work permits, social security cards, and other key documents that prove their status to begin with
www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
24.02.2026 19:12
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ICE took their papers—and won’t give them back
Immigrants are being released from detention without documents proving their status.
“If you look at the Constitution’s texts, its language is broad and sweeping, and it protects persons—whether they’re citizens or not." Read more from @davidhgans.bsky.social in @motherjones.com about the Fourth Amendment's protections for everyone: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
24.02.2026 18:59
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ICE took their papers—and won’t give them back
Immigrants are being released from detention without documents proving their status.
NEW from @julialurie.bsky.social: Immigrants in Minnesota are being released from ICE detention without the work permits, Social Security cards, licenses, and other documents that prove their status
24.02.2026 18:15
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Thanks Franita, the piece is now up on SSRN and is available here: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers..... Comments very much welcomed and appreciated.
24.02.2026 16:36
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Really fascinating work from my brilliant colleague David H. Gans:
24.02.2026 00:42
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Hi Michael, here's the SSRN link to download the piece: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.....
23.02.2026 22:24
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Hi Jerry. Here's the SSRN link: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.....
23.02.2026 22:24
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Ken Burns (@kenlburns) on Threads
Today we celebrate the birthday of one of our country’s greatest scholars and activists W.E.B Du Bois. I’m looking forward to the new doc on his life and work, REBEL WITH A CAUSE. Here’s an early loo...
Celebrating the birthday of the great scholar and visionary W.E.B DuBois, whose meticulously-researched seminal work Black Reconstruction, is the essential historical account of the true story of Reconstruction and how it was destroyed.
www.threads.com/@kenlburns/p...
23.02.2026 17:47
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This important new scholarship from my @myconstitution.bsky.social colleague @davidhgans.bsky.social has the added bonus of also being incredibly interesting. It's definitely a must-read!
23.02.2026 17:02
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Thanks to everyone who expressed interest in my forthcoming @stanlrev.bsky.social piece. As promised, I have posted the current version of the piece on SSRN: papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers..... Comments very welcome. So excited to work with Stanford's amazing editors in getting this into print.
23.02.2026 16:15
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Thanks Sarah!
21.02.2026 16:23
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Thanks Michael. It should be up on SSRN on Monday and I’m happy to share a link with you. Thanks for your interest in seeing the piece.
21.02.2026 16:18
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Thanks Jerry. I’m planning to post to SSRN on Monday and I’ll post a link then. Thanks for your interest.
21.02.2026 16:16
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This one is definitely in the queue
21.02.2026 02:26
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Honoring Eunice Hunton Carter, New York's first Black female prosecutor
YouTube video by CBS New York
CAC Scholar-in-Residence @catherinepowellesq.bsky.social spoke to CBS about the legacy of Eunice Hunton Carter, New York's first Black female prosecutor and a key figure in American history. www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2aX...
20.02.2026 21:01
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Thanks so much Heidi!
20.02.2026 20:39
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Thrilled that my article, Forgotten Framers: Black Conventions and the Second Founding, is forthcoming in the Stan. L. Rev. @stanlrev.bsky.social. It discusses Black Conventions held during Reconstruction and how these conventions are critical to a proper understanding of the 13, 14, & 15th Amdts.
20.02.2026 20:31
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