The 1857 Supreme Court decision in this case legally solidified white supremacy in the United States that dominates every area of activity today. Chief Supreme Court Justice of the Dred Scott case, Roger Taney made the following statement about Black Americans in his final decision:

“They (Black people) had for more than a century before been regarded as beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations; and so far inferior, that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.”

Many legal and social analysts will claim that the 14th amendment of the U.S. Constitution that was made a few years after this Supreme Court ruling, effectively overturned the Dred Scott decision. But the Supreme Court has never specifically overturned the Dred Scott decision. And even to this day, the 14th amendment in the Constitution is rarely enforced to protect Black Americans.

Part of the 14th amendment reads:

“No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

Yet, during the so-called Jim Crow era, the 14th amendment, and other amendments were legally and  repeatedly violated when it came to Black Americans. Black people could be lynched by whites at any time for any reason with impunity. And even now in modern times, we repeatedly see numerous innocent, unarmed Black men, women, and children have their so-called Constitutional rights violated by white supremacists with complete impunity.

Trayvon Martin was “deprived of life” without “due process of the law.”

Eric Garner was “deprived of life” without “due process of the law.”

Freddie Gray was “deprived of life” without “due process of the law.”

Philander Castille was “deprived of life” without “due process of the law.”

And this list goes on and on. All of these Black citizens were murdered by whites and the killers were not punished. So these cases prove that the Constitution is not being fully enforced. But it proves that the Dred Scott Supreme Court decision is being fully enforced: Meaning Blacks do not have rights that whites are bound to respect.

A recent court ruling in Kansas approvingly cited the Dred Scott decision in an anti-abortion case. In October 2016, Kansas Solicitor General cited the Dred Scott decision in a legal brief explaining why SB 95, which is a ruling that outlawed certain types of abortion, should be upheld.

While pro-lifers sometimes use the example of the human rights abuses of slavery to argue that all human beings deserve an equal right to life and liberty, that does not appear to have been the Kansas Attorney General’s argument in this case. Rather, the state’s point in citing Dred Scott (a ruling that said Blacks were not U.S. citizens and that Blacks were inferior) is to indicate how the state Constitution language should be interpreted.

In its argument, the state attorneys cited former Chief Justice Roger Taney’s description of the Declaration of Independence in the Dred Scott case. Taney wrote that the Declaration’s unalienable rights are merely “general words used in that memorable instrument” that have no legal effect, according to the ABA Journal.

Many people in the legal profession were shocked that the Dred Scott decision would be approvingly cited in a modern case. Feeling the backlash, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt apologized for citing the controversial Dred Scott case. Also in response to the backlash, Kansas “withdrew” the offending legal brief on October 18th 2016.

But “withdrawing” a legal brief after you effectively cite it in court is too little too late. The cat is out of the bag.  The reality is, the court approvingly allowed the Dred Scott case to be cited because the Scott decision is still the law on the land in the United States. Black people still do not have rights that whites are bound to respect. And Black people do not get equal protection under the law.

At this point, Black people should collectively go to the Supreme Court to establish exactly what our status and what our compensation should be under this court sanctioned system of white supremacy.

By Saturday, July 4th, 2015, this country will have already witnessed one of its most volatile and disheartening years in recent history…and we’re slightly over halfway through 2015 at this point. At the time of this writing, the United States has witnessed literally hundreds of murders of innocent and unarmed Melanoid people at the hands of race soldiers (aka police officers), mass killings of innocent and unarmed Melanoid people in places of worship at the hands of white extremists who were inspired to do so in the name of racism/white supremacy, the burning down of several Black churches in various areas of the United States, and the worst part of the matter is that ALL of this occurred in 2015 alone. The U.S. has a Black president who chooses to ignore the even the basic needs of his biggest group of supporters in this country.

Supporters of Barack Obama during his election in 2008.

 In response to the recent escalated mistreatment of Melanoid people, the Senegalese recording artist superstar Akon mentioned that ‘America was never built for Black people‘. This is telling, considering that Akon has an international perspective; and although much of his fame and fortune has obviously been generated here in the States, he has been able to see the hostile racial climate that has taken its toll on Melanoid people (in the States) for what it is.

“How many African-Americans do you know actually consider Africa as a vacation spot? Not one… Even just for knowledge, just to know where they came from, just to get an idea of what that is; there is so much fear instilled in them that they wouldn’t even want to go there to visit. You mention Africa, they start shaking.”
-Akon

In addition to these factors that sum up the Black Experience in America, let us not forget about the Melanoid victims who were left homeless and in dire need of assistance because of Hurricane Katrina. The victims were referred to as “refugees”, as if to suggest that these unfortunate Brothers and Sisters were runaways from another country who had no business in the States anyway. Let us not forget legal constructs that remain relevant within the framework in today’s U.S. government, such as the Dred Scott ruling, and the The Three-Fifths Clause—two instances that explicitly show that Black people are not American citizens, and that we should be considered (by their laws) subhuman in the first place.

One of the most common white supremacist insults said to us over the years has been the “Go back to Africa” line. In hindsight, one has to wonder: Do the people who say such things subconsciously feel that we are not American citizens, or that we do not deserve to be a part of “their country”? While this particular topic is not intended to be one about citizenship, it does indeed raise concerns about our position in this country, and what does it truly mean to be considered a “Black/African/Melanoid-American” having been born in, and spending a great deal of our entire lives within the borders of the United States?

This year, we are quickly approaching another 4th of July Weekend. Considering what a taxing year 2015 has been on the hearts, spirits, and overall morale of Black America, what will this year’s celebration of the 4th of July mean to you?

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