Speaking at the Alabama Power Company’s “Making History Now” Black History Month luncheon, Equal Justice Initiative founder and The Constitution Project contributor Bryan Stevenson argued that justice cannot be advanced without some discomfort. Stevenson urged his audience to have the courage to get close enough to feeling what they’re trying to correct. That discomfort, Stevenson explained, generates power, and from that power comes the ability to create change. To hear more compelling ideas from Stevenson, watch his 20-minute TED lecture, “We need to talk about injustice.” The lecture, viewed over 1.4 million times, generated a record-setting standing ovation for the TED lecture series. You can also watch him in a number of our films, including One Man Changes the Constitution about the fight to expand the right to counsel, and Jury Selection: Edmonson v. Leesville.
New Supreme Court Decision Expands Warrantless Searches of Homes
On Tuesday, February 25th the Supreme Court announced a 6-3 decision that allows police officers to conduct warrantless searches of private residences outside the context of an emergency. The Court ruled that police may enter and search a home without a warrant over the previous objections of one resident, as long as another occupant consents. To learn more about the 4th Amendment and constitutional protections against search and seizure, watch our award-winning film Search and Seizure: Mapp v. Ohio.
NJ Governor Christie Scandal Shines Light on Pleading the Fifth
Earlier this week a former aide to Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, cited her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when she announced she would not hand over documents in response to a subpoena issued by a legislative panel investigating allegations of politically-motivated lane closures on the George Washington Bridge. Learn more about the Fifth Amendment, the right against self-incrimination and the landmark Supreme Court case, Miranda v. Arizona that ensured the protection of that right for all people accused of a crime by watching our film, The Right to Remain Silent: Miranda v. Arizona.
Lilly Ledbetter and the State of Our Union
This week marks the fifth year anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. But as President Obama discussed during the State of the Union Address, there’s still a lot of work to be done to ensure equal pay for equal work is a reality. Watch our ABA Silver Gavel Award winning film, A Call to Act and learn about Mrs. Ledbetter’s amazing fight that took her to the Supreme Court, Congress and finally the White House.
Commemorate Fred Korematsu Day, Learn About this Civil Rights Hero
January 30th is Fred Korematsu Day. Mr. Korematsu was a national civil rights hero. He was one of only a handful of Asian Americans who challenged the government’s efforts to incarcerate Japanese Americans from the West Coast in internment camps during World War II. At the age of 23, Mr. Korematsu was arrested and eventually convicted for defying the government’s order to leave California. Undeterred, he appealed his case all the way to the Supreme Court. In 1944, in a decision that remains a stain on the Court’s legacy, the Court ruled against him. As Associate Justice Stephen Breyer declares in our film, Korematsu and Civil Liberties, it is “universally acknowledge that that was an error.” Watch our film and learn more about Mr. Korematsu and his fight for justice.
