July 9, 2018, was the 150th anniversary of the ratification of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution. Elizabeth Nolan Brown explained the significance in a piece at Reason.com:

The Fourteenth Amendment—greenlit by a 23rd state (and thus cleared for adoption) on July 9, 1868—says that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. 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.” It was passed to grant citizenship and equal protection to freed slaves in the aftermath of the Civil War (and three years after the 13th Amendment formally ended slavery).

It’s been at the center of a number of huge (and sometimes hotly contested) Supreme Court cases, including Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), Lochner v. New York (1905), Brown v. Board of Education (1954), Mapp v. Ohio (1961), Griswold v. Connecticut (1965), and Loving v. Virginia (1967).

“Today the Fourteenth Amendment stands among the most often cited and most litigated of constitutional provisions,” writes American Bar Association President Linda Klein. It “has supported and inspired landmark civil rights legislation, including laws that bar discrimination in education, employment, and housing. Rarely does a Supreme Court term pass without a major ruling that has its roots in the Fourteenth Amendment, including recent decisions on such noteworthy topics as affirmative action and voting rights. The amendment’s section on public debt has even been cited in debates over raising the federal debt ceiling.”

“An even broader interpretation of the 14th Amendment may reshape American society in the 21st century,” suggests historian and New School lecturer Amanda Brickell Bellows.

The 14th amendment greatly expanded the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction over the states. That, more than any specific issue, is the reason why Supreme Court nominations are so hotly contested, and why Brett Kavanaugh’s interpretation of the 14th Amendment is bound to be a major issue during his confirmation hearings.

On July 28th, in Raleigh, the North Carolina Commission for Racial and Ethnic Disparity in the Criminal Justice System is hosting a event to celebrate the 14th Amendment’s 150th anniversary. Here are some details about the event:

This event will discuss the historical implications of the 14th Amendment and how it informs our justice system and society today. The program seeks to bring attention to the threats the 14th Amendment currently face and how we can protect and the defend the appropriate use of the 14th Amendment.

Moderators and panelists include Walter Dellinger, Duke University School of Law; John Charles Boger, UNC School of Law; Ted Shaw, UNC School of Law; Erika Wilson, UNC School of Law; Irving Joyner, NCCU School of Law; Fitz Brundage, UNC; William Sturkey, UNC; Michelle Lee, NC State University

And here is a link to a page where you can reserve a ticket.