Sept. 17 marked the 233rd anniversary of the adoption of the American Constitution. To celebrate and help understand the complicated legacy of this country’s founding document, ETSU held a virtual conference entitled “Equality and The Constitution from the Civil War to Black Lives Matter.” As we grapple with questions of historical violence and the American project, we ask ourselves, whose interests do the Constitution protect, historically and in our contemporary moment? Moreover, why is it that race relations, in spite of all progress, have largely remained?
As anyone with a passing knowledge of American history knows, racism constantly re-articulates itself to fit the moment. Though race essentialists from all stripes would try to convince you otherwise, this is not a mystic process of ancient antagonisms re-emerging when the moment is ripe. It is far more banal and in some ways, far more sinister. Functionally, it serves to sow division among the country’s working populations, in part by creating two separate labor pools they position against one another.
While this system has evolved, it has not always been for the better. Racism remains, but with each juncture the systems of power become more mystified. Racial discrimination is still codified into our law. This extends far beyond city ordinances or local laws targeting minority populations. It is the very lifeblood of the American legal system.
The 13th Amendment to the Constitution explicitly states, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” In our current moment, the for-profit prison system propped up by policing practices that target low-income individuals, particularly Black and brown people, exploits the loophole spelled out in the amendment. The country’s obsession with law-and-order rhetoric, higher sentences for crimes and militarized policing is reflective of both racism and the class antagonism that undergirds it.
The Constitution, written to protect the interests of white land-owning elites, still serves its original purpose. Liberty is only lent out to everyone else to ensure their position is not usurped. In order to move forward, the apparent contradictions in what our country appears to be and what it is must be resolved.
