In this episode, the hosts discuss the history of invoking some form of States’ Rights theory to limit the efforts of the federal government to expand or protect the rights of persons within the United States     Southern Manifesto https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Manifesto   Mississippi State Sovereign Commission https://web.archive.org/web/20191205182453/http://mshistorynow.mdah.state.ms.us/index.php?id=243 https://www.scencyclopedia.org/sce/entries/nullification/#:~:text=The%20crisis%2C%20which%20began%20as,and%20secede%20from%20the%20Union.   “Calhoun’s justification of nullification and secession as constitutional rights of the state also went beyond traditional states’ rights doctrine as they were based on an unprecedented notion of absolute state sovereignty. Most old states’ righters, including James Madison, condemned nullification as an extraconstitutional and un-republican theory as it was not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution and because it subverted the cardinal principle of republican government, majority rule.”     https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Carolina_Declaration_of_Secession#:~:text=The%20South%20Carolina%20Declaration%20of,for%20seceding%20from%20the%20United   "A geographical line has been drawn across the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States, whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery."   https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/setting-the-precedent-mendez-et-al-v-westminster-school-district-of-orange-county-et-al-and-the-us-courthouse-and-post-office.htm#:~:text=Mendez%2C%20et%20al.-,v.,school%20segregation%20across%20the%20state.   “Before Brown, et al., v. Board of Education., et al., made racial segregation in public schools unconstitutional, there was Mendez, et al. v. Westminster School District of Orange County, et al. This 1946 class-action lawsuit challenged the constitutionality of separate schools for Mexican American students in Southern California and eventually helped end public school segregation across the state.”   https://mississippitoday.org/2024/01/14/on-this-day-in-1963-alabama-gov-georg-wallace-said-segregation-forever/ (Jan 14, 1963) “On the same portico of the Alabama Capitol in Montgomery where Jefferson Davis was sworn in as president of the Confederacy, Alabama Gov. George Wallace delivered his inaugural address, telling the crowd, “In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!”  Asa Carter, a member of the Ku Klux Klan, wrote his speech, which made national headlines and thrust Wallace into the national spotlight.”  https://www.npr.org/2010/01/18/122701268/i-have-a-dream-speech-in-its-entirety  “I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of ‘interposition’ and ‘nullification’ — one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”  Simple Justice: The History of Brown v. Board of Education and Black America's Struggle for Equality

In this episode, the hosts discuss the controversy concerning the Resignation of Harvard president Claudine Gay.Is Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion undermining merit or does it address a history of Discrimination, Exclusion, and Inequality.   Claudine Gay's Resignation The Claudine Gay Debacle Was Never about Merit Claudine Gay and the Limits of Social Engineering at Harvard Biden to Appeal to Black Voters in Campaign Trip to Charleston, SC

In this episode, the hosts discuss the leading role that Virginia has played in the racial divide in America’s history.  Home to the Founding Fathers and Capital of the Confederacy, the state has been the crucible of the ideals which built this country and the ideas which would tear it apart.   Washington, DC History   https://washington.org/DC-information/washington-dc-history   Virginia 1619   https://time.com/5653369/august-1619-jamestown-history/   https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/02/06/virginia-is-birthplace-american-slavery-segregation-it-still-cant-escape-that-legacy/ https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Virginia_political_crisis.   https://blackvirginia.richmond.edu/items/show/873    https://www.brookings.edu/articles/when-white-supremacy-came-to-virginia/   https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/an-act-concerning-servants-and-slaves-1705/   https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/10-facts-founding-fathers   https://www.monticello.org/exhibits-events/livestreams-videos-and-podcasts/enslaved-on-grounds-slavery-at-the-university-of-virginia/#:~:text=From%20Thomas%20Jefferson's%20founding%20of,nation's%20most%20prestigious%20public%20universities     Florida Episode - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/black-history-never-equal-never-protected-first-stop/id1485019282?i=1000623777868    Indiana Episode - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/black-history-never-equal-never-protected-up-north/id1485019282?i=1000627180421 

In this episode, the hosts discuss Justice O’Connor’s role as the “swing vote” as the Court addressed major fault lines in our society on issues such as abortion, affirmative action, and gender equality.   Planned Parenthood v. Casey https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/505/833/   Grutter v. Bollinger https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/539/306/

In this episode, the hosts continue examining how specific states have addressed racial equality, Black history, and White Supremacy. In this episode, they travel outside the Deep South, and focus on the state of Indiana – Klan Capital and home of Sundown Towns.   LINKS IN THIS EPISODE Links for podcast Violence in Jacksonville Florida https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/26/us/jacksonville-florida-shooting-multiple-fatalities/index.html https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/30/us/politics/jacksonville-desantis-black-community.html Ax Handle Saturday https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ax_Handle_Saturday Indiana History links https://www.wboi.org/news/2020-09-17/sundown-towns-in-indiana-how-a-legacy-of-whites-only-towns-rose-and-continues-to-affect-today https://www.wrtv.com/longform/the-ku-klux-klan-ran-indiana-once-could-it-happen-again https://www.in.gov/history/for-educators/download-issues-of-the-indiana-historian/indiana-emigrants-to-liberia/being-black-in-indiana/#:~:text=The%20culmination%20of%20this%20prejudice,that%20money%20from%20fines%20be https://www.in.gov/history/about-indiana-history-and-trivia/explore-indiana-history-by-topic/indiana-documents-leading-to-statehood/constitution-of-1851/article-13-negroes-and-mulattoes/ https://www.in.gov/history/for-educators/all-resources-for-educators/resources/underground-railroad/gwen-crenshaw/the-colonization-movement/ https://www.tribstar.com/community/state-didnt-allow-slavery-but-had-other-laws/article_3ebadde5-f5cc-5903-bd0e-985df0f87162.html Rosedale, NY Racist attacks https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/21/nyregion/racist-video-rosedale-queens.html Other Related Episodes https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/colorblind-remedies-for-color-conscious-wrongs/id1485019282?i=1000619289008 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fire-this-time-black-history-surviving-in-the/id1485019282?i=1000599386336  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/it-wasnt-only-tulsa/id1485019282?i=1000523721230 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stolen-history/id1485019282?i=1000462863417    Follow Ellis Conversations on Twitter Follow Judge Ronald Ellis on Twitter Follow Jamil Ellis on Twitter Follow Jamil Ellis on LinkedIn Check out Unified Ground Check out BlackHistoryChatGPT

In this episode, the hosts begin a series of episodes examining how specific states have addressed the racial equality, Black history, and White Supremacy.  First stop: Florida.   LINKS IN THIS EPISODE Smithsonian Magazine https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/one-hundred-years-ago-four-day-race-riot-engulfed-washington-dc-180972666/   Florida Academic Standards 2023 https://www.fldoe.org/core/fileparse.php/20653/urlt/6-4.pdf   Ron DeSantis and the State Where History Goes to Die https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/28/opinion/desantis-slavery-florida-curriculum-history.html?smid=nytcore-android-share Removing Relics of "The Lost Cause" | On the Media | WNYC Studios https://www.wnycstudios.org/podcasts/otm/segments/removing-relics-lost-cause-on-the-media Lost Cause  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lost_Cause_of_the_Confederacy   Other Related Episodes https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/colorblind-remedies-for-color-conscious-wrongs/id1485019282?i=1000619289008 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-fire-this-time-black-history-surviving-in-the/id1485019282?i=1000599386336  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/it-wasnt-only-tulsa/id1485019282?i=1000523721230 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/stolen-history/id1485019282?i=1000462863417    Follow Ellis Conversations on Twitter Follow Judge Ronald Ellis on Twitter Follow Jamil Ellis on Twitter Follow Jamil Ellis on LinkedIn Check out Unified Ground Check out BlackHistoryChatGPT

Photo Credit : Encyclyopedia Britanica   In this program, the hosts discuss the Supreme Court’s decision to forbid race-conscious affirmative action  approaches to achieve diversity n higher education.  The discussion contrasts Justice Roberts’ pronouncement that decisions should be color-blind with Justice Jackson’s reminder that the country has been far from colorblind and the effects are not just historical but real in the present because of the intergenerational transmission of inequality.  Moreover, the “self-evident” truth that all are created equal has not been applicable to Black Americans.   Ketanji Jackson Brown's dissenting opinion   OTHER EPISODES OF INTEREST   Affirmative Action - How we got to now From Loving vs Virginia to Roe vs Wade: Who gets to decide which rights get protected for Americans The Hands That Rock The Cradle: Donald Trump, the Supreme Court, and the Federalist Society. Whose Constitution is it, Anyway?: Originalism vs. The Living Constitution     RELATED LINKS Follow Ellis Conversations on Twitter Follow Judge Ronald Ellis on Twitter Follow Jamil Ellis on Twitter Follow Jamil Ellis on LinkedIn Check out Unified Ground Check out BlackHistoryChatGPT

Image Credit: Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States In this episode, the hosts discuss the Roberts Court’s failure to adhere to precedent and the effect this is having on the public’s confidence in the Supreme Court.  Respect for precedents and the application of the principle of stare desisis provide constancy and comfort and avoids the appearance that the Court is swayed by political consideration.  Simple assertions that a prior decision was wrongly decided are inadequate to justify undermining the expectations of parties before the Court and the public at large.    LINKS IN THIS EPISODE Follow Ellis Conversations on Twitter Follow Judge Ronald Ellis on Twitter Follow Jamil Ellis on Twitter Follow Jamil Ellis on LinkedIn Check out Unified Ground Check out BlackHistoryChatGPT   https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/28/us/alito-supreme-court-abortion-leak.html  https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/28/alito-leaker-dobbs-wsj/       OTHER EPISODES OF INTEREST From Loving vs Virginia to Roe vs Wade: Who gets to decide which rights get protected for Americans The Hands That Rock The Cradle: Donald Trump, the Supreme Court, and the Federalist Society. Whose Constitution is it, Anyway?: Originalism vs. The Living Constitution    

Photo credit: Afro.com EPISODE SUMMARY In this episode, the hosts discuss Black History and the historical use of book burning, book banning, and other methods to suppress inconvenient truths. False narratives flourish when voices remain silent are have been removed from the discussion. To download the transcript, CLICK HERE A FEW KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE Denying Black people education and banning books is part of historical pattern to control access to information to control the narrative This practice of banning and burning books has been used throughout history by people in power wishing to keep power ChatGPT disagress with the governor of Florida on the educational value of AP African American History LINKS IN THIS EPISODE Follow Ellis Conversations on Twitter Follow Judge Ronald Ellis on Twitter Follow Jamil Ellis on Twitter Follow Jamil Ellis on LinkedIn Check out Unified Ground Check out BlackHistoryChatGPT   Current effort to ban books https://afro.com/10-banned-books-that-are-crucial-to-black-culture/ These 176 Books Were Banned in Duval County, Florida - PEN America Ruby Bridges speaks out on book bans: 'Surely we are better than this' (yahoo.com) Why Book Ban Efforts Are Spreading Across the U.S. - The New York Times (nytimes.com)   https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/social-sciences-and-law/social-reformers/nat-turner https://encyclopediavirginia.org/entries/turners-revolt-nat-1831/ Reconquista https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/spain-announces-it-will-expel-all-jews https://bennorton.com/the-other-1492/ The Politics of education and text books https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/01/12/us/texas-vs-california-history-textbooks.html     OTHER EPISODES OF INTEREST Martin Luther King - Waiting on His Dream From Loving vs Virginia to Roe vs Wade: Who gets to decide which rights get protected for Americans    

EPISODE SUMMARY In this episode, the hosts discuss why Martin Luther King should not be limited by a selection of words from the “I Have a Dream” speech delivered in 1963, and how he pointed out the failings of America,  confronted those in power, and challenged them to make that dream a reality.  A FEW KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE If you look at the "I Have a Dream "speech, and you don't look at that one line, but you look at what he said about the state of Black America and how black Americans were shackled in their own country, then you get a better sense of how he was confronting America and his treatment of a large segment of the population. A great starting point to understand that when Martin Luther King Jr. says non-violent, he's confronting a system of American apartheid that is making second-class citizens. America's a violent nation. It was born of violence. It was maintained by violence in the form of a civil war, and it's held together through violence. Martin Luther King was a revolutionary and his revolution wasn't premised on having more guns. To download the transcript, CLICK HERE LINKS IN THIS EPISODE MLK NBC Interview 11 months before his assassination https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xsbt3a7K-8 Letter From Birmingham Jail https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html Homestead Act of 1862 https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/civil_war/Homestead_Act.htm#:~:text=To%20help%20develop%20the%20American,western%20land%20to%20individual%20settlers https://www.aaihs.org/race-reconstruction/#:~:text=Since%20the%20Homestead%20Act%20was,and%20immigrant%20%E2%80%93%20profited%20from%20it. I Have A Dream Speech Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs I Have A Dream Speech Transcript https://www.npr.org/2010/01/18/122701268/i-have-a-dream-speech-in-its-entirety Frontline Transcript February 10, 1998 https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/race/etc/script.html Washington Post Story on passage of King Day https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/opinions/articles/solemn_senate_votes_for_national_holiday.html Follow Ellis Conversations on Twitter Follow Judge Ronald Ellis on Twitter Follow Jamil Ellis on Twitter Follow Jamil Ellis on LinkedIn Check out Unified Ground Check out BlackHistoryChatGPT OTHER EPISODES OF INTEREST Affirmative Action: How We Got To Now John Lewis Voting Rights Act Role of Protest in Fostering Change