Lesson series

"The Revolution of 1868: The Fourteenth Amendment and Ten Cases at the Nexus of History and Equity"
Dr. Yohuru Williams

FREE VIRTUAL COURSE LIVE NOVEMBER 4TH AND 11TH

Ratified in the aftermath of the Civil War, the Fourteenth Amendment has been described as part of a “Second Founding”—a constitutional revolution that transformed the meaning of citizenship, liberty, equality, and the relationship between individuals, the states, and the federal government. Its deceptively simple promises—that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens, that no state may deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, and that all persons are entitled to the equal protection of the laws—have become some of the most consequential and contested words in the Constitution.
But how has the Fourteenth Amendment functioned historically as an instrument of equity?

In this two-day mini-course, historian Dr. Yohuru Williams explores the history, promise, limitations, and evolving meaning of the Fourteenth Amendment through ten landmark Supreme Court cases.

Moving from Reconstruction through the struggles over race, citizenship, education, gender, immigration, marriage, and political representation, participants will examine how individuals and communities have turned to the Fourteenth Amendment to challenge exclusion and expand the boundaries of American freedom. Rather than approaching these cases solely as matters of constitutional doctrine, the course places each decision within the historical struggle that produced it.

Together, we will consider the distance between constitutional principle and lived experience and ask an enduring question: How—and for whom—has the Fourteenth Amendment helped transform the promise of equality into the practice of equity?
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Course Lessons

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About

Dr. Yohuru Williams

Distinguished University Chair, Professor of History, and Founding Director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas.
Dr. Yohuru Williams is Distinguished University Chair, Professor of History, and Founding Director of the Racial Justice Initiative at the University of St. Thomas. A nationally recognized historian, author, and public scholar, his work explores the intersections of history, democracy, civil rights, and public memory while helping communities use history as a tool for civic engagement and social change
He is the author, co-author, and editor of eleven books, including Black Politics/White Power: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Black Panthers in New Haven; The Black Panthers: Portraits from an Unfinished Revolution; Teaching Beyond the Textbook; Call Him Jack: The Story of Jackie Robinson, Black Freedom Fighter; More Than a Dream: The Radical March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, which was longlisted for the National Book Award for Young People's Literature; Afterlife: A Collective History of Loss and Redemption in Pandemic America; and Rethinking the Black Freedom Movement.

In addition to his scholarship, Dr. Williams is an accomplished documentary historian and media commentator. He is the co-creator, co-executive producer, and featured historian of Paradox: Echoes of Police Reform, a Twin Cities PBS documentary examining the history of policing, public safety, and reform in Minneapolis. He has also served as a historical advisor and featured scholar for PBS's Jackie Robinson and The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution and has appeared in nationally broadcast documentaries and series including PBS's Great Migrations: A People on the Move; Blacks and Jews: An Interwoven History and the History Channel's The West; The American Presidency; and Jim Thorpe: Lit by Lightning. His historical analysis has been featured on CNN, ABC, MSNBC, NPR, BET, C-SPAN, and other national media outlets.

Through his scholarship, documentary work, teaching, and community partnerships, Dr. Williams seeks to connect the lessons of history to the challenges of building a more just, informed, and inclusive democracy.

Dr. Williams is a frequent contributor to History Channel documentaries and documentary series, including The American Presidency with Bill Clinton, The Great War, Kevin Costner's The West, Jim Thorpe: Lit by Lightning, The Food That Built America, The Toys That Built America, The Engineering That Built the World, and History's digital series Sound Smart. He has also served as a historical advisor and featured scholar for PBS's Jackie Robinson and The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution and appeared in PBS documentaries including Blacks and Jews.