Last month, I shared Part 1 of my recent presentation about living Constitutionalism. I promised to return with Part 2. 

The U.S. Constitution is a DEI document. We need to look no further than the Reconstruction Amendments – the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments – to see this.

The Thirteenth Amendment, passed in 1865, outlawed slavery (except as punishment for crime). The Fourteenth Amendment, passed in 1866 and ratified in 1868, extended the liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people. The Fifteenth Amendment, passed in 1869 and ratified in 1870, extended the right to vote to Black men. We can also look to the Nineteenth Amendment, which finally granted women the right to vote in 1920. 

Each of these amendments made our living Constitution more inclusive. They extended constitutional protections to those who had previously been excluded. In the midst of targeted attacks against DEI, our very own Constitution demonstrates why so-called “DEI documents” are essential to achieving the promise of democracy in America. 

It is up to us to fight for their survival. 

Defending democracy is 24/7/365.