This week, Nancy Pelosi called on Congressional leadership to shed its halls of statues bearing likenesses to and honoring Confederates. Yet, for me, as a constitutional law scholar, the most troubling of the busts and statues at the Capitol is that of Chief Justice Roger B. Taney—who wrote that Blacks were “of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race.”
Author: Michele Goodwin
Michele Bratcher Goodwin is a prolific thoughtleader on matters of constitutional law and health policy. In addition to Ms. magazine, Dr. Goodwin's commentary can be read in The Atlantic, The New York Times, the Nation, CNN and The L.A. Times, among others. She holds the Linda D. & Timothy J. O'Neill chair in constitutional law and global health policy at Georgetown Law School and serves as the co-faculty director of the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. She is the executive producer of Ms. Studios.
Addressing Racism’s Toll: My Minneapolis Experience
Living as a Black woman in Minneapolis and dealing with constant racist episodes, “I often felt as if I were in a strange sociological experiment,” writes Michele Goodwin—so much so that her biracial daughter did not feel comfortable returning to the city. “But this needn’t have been my family’s story. So how do we fix this?”
Injecting Bleach Is Not An Elixir For What Ails The United States
The briefing was stunning—not only for what the president conjectured to senior medical officials and media in attendance, but also for what it reveals about another crisis in the United States, namely a crisis in education in America. As comedians spoofed and memes mocked the president, the real tragedy resided not simply in his bizarre conjectures, but in a devaluing of education and science.
Grave Threats to Voting Rights in the Wisconsin Election
The path for Wisconsin voters was fraught by voter suppression, conservative organizations essentially lobbying the Wisconsin Supreme Court by letter (rather than the typical filing of briefs), and the failure of the United States Supreme Court to uphold civil liberties in a time of health crisis.
Weaponizing Racism in the Wake of COVID-19
Containing the spread of COVID-19 and reducing the risk of its spread will not be achieved through pandering to xenophobia, racial stereotypes or weaponizing racism.
Will The Supreme Court Respect the Rule of Law—and Its Own Jurisprudence?
What June v. Gee will come down to is the integrity of our institutions.
How Centuries of Legal Precedent Stack the System Against Survivors
The legacy of legislators and judges turning a blind eye to rape and sexual assault underscores why it matters who sits on our courts—and why the Senate must do better in vetting candidates and adopt a formal process to address sexual assault allegations.
How Feminists Should Remember Justice Kennedy
Those who care about women’s health and rights should be concerned about Justice Kennedy’s retirement, but not for the reasons offered by pundits who frame his retirement as a grave loss on women’s issues.