Justice Above All

This episode of Justice Above All examines how the Supreme Court interpreted the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause in Brown v. Board of Education (1954), and how today’s legal arguments decontextualize the Amendment’s historical context in which it was ratified—during Reconstruction, to secure full citizenship and legal equality for formerly enslaved Black people. Today, multiple Supreme Court decisions reflect an inaccurate and ahistorical reading of the Reconstruction Ame...

Algorithms and predictive technologies are being used to an increasing extent in housing (i.e., tenant screening, lending, appraisals, housing advertising). While algorithms have the potential to increase equity by removing human bias from decision-making, there is very little transparency and oversight over these tools and there is a real threat that these technologies are in fact replicating and amplifying existing bias and discrimination. In this episode of Justice Above All, Thurgood Mars...

This episode of Justice Above All discusses voter challenges and voter turnout ahead of the November 5, 2024 election. Our guests explain how voter intimidation and voter suppression tactics continue to pose systemic barriers to Black voters. Even while this is occurring, Black voices are not being completely silenced: organizers are building Black political power in the South and celebrating major wins. Ahead of the November 2024 election, the Legal Defense Fund (LDF) won two lawsuits ...

May 2024 marks 70 years since the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education declaring the “separate but equal” doctrine unconstitutional and marking a new standard for American education.This episode is part one of a special three-part arc to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Brown, which dismantled legal racial apartheid in the United States and radically reshaped American life. The series will dive into the history and legacy of this groundbre...

On this episode of Justice Above All, Thurgood Marshall Institute summer research fellows explored food apartheid. The fellows investigated the struggle to access quality food in the United States and on this special episode of the show, they're sharing what their research revealed about the deep, systemic legacy of food apartheid in Black communities across the country. Guests: Dr. Wilma Clopton, Amalea Smirniotopolous, David Wheaton If you enjoyed this episode plea...

In 2022, LDF made its return to the Supreme Court for the first time in seven years. Every year, LDF submits a few amicus briefs in various civil rights cases to the Court, but an LDF attorney had not delivered an oral argument before the Court since Buck v. Davis. But in 2022, Deuel Ross, LDF’s Deputy Director of Litigation, argued before the Supreme Court on behalf of Black Alabama voters in Allen v. Milligan. LDF challenged Alabama’s unconstitutional congressional map that denied Black vot...

Freedom House was a radical idea that changed emergency response programs and birthed modern-day paramedicine. As we continue to reimagine public safety and confront the role of police in our society, Freedom House's legacy offers a blueprint on what health and safety can look like when people experiencing medical or behavioral distress are met with appropriate care. On this episode Justice Above All, host Dr. Ayobami Laniyonu, Non-Resident Senior Research Fellow at TMI, unpacks what we...