On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, A Moment to Reflect on the Constitution 

This Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is especially auspicious, falling as it does during the sesquicentennial—250 years since we declared our independence. Ever since its founding, our nation has made stunning strides toward the ideals of democracy and freedom, while also failing to move toward the “more perfect union” named in the Constitution’s preamble and alluded to in King’s famed “I Have a Dream” speech in 1963.  

More than a celebration of history, this sesquicentennial and MLK holiday should be a moment to reflect on our role in bending the arc of history toward justice. How can we work to realize the promises of equality and liberty set forth in the Declaration of Independence?  

Recognize that history is still being made. As has always been true of the American Experiment, the direction of our democracy remains hotly contested.  

The Founders recognized that America was neither static nor perfect. The Constitution’s amendment process is proof of that. Fortunately for us, our ancestors used it to create the nation we live in today. The amendments abolished slavery, guaranteed the right to vote regardless of race or sex, protected fundamental individual liberties from state or federal infringement, and much more. In fact, our day-to-day experience as Americans is shaped more by the amendments to the Constitution—especially those following the Civil War—than by what the Framers wrote. The Second Founding was as momentous as the First. 

The Constitution and Declaration also contain words and principles that each generation must breathe life into. How do we define “equal protection of the laws”? What does “liberty” mean? How does government protect the “general welfare”? The Constitution established critical structures and guarantees, but they are parchment promises without active engagement.  

Claim Your Space in Our American Story. Of course, the Supreme Court interprets the Constitution, and Congress writes laws. Yet their judgments are continually revisited by justices and lawmakers. They can and have changed for better or worse. In this 250^th year, don’t take their word for it. Investigate the Constitution for yourself. 

For example, the national conversation about the post-Civil War constitutional amendments continues. Having abolished slavery with the Thirteenth Amendment, the Reconstruction framers turned to the question of what it means to be free. What protections does our national charter need to ensure that liberty would not be restrained as it was under slavery? They studied enslavement-era atrocities and considered testimony from its victims. The words they chose to prevent its reoccurrence extended beyond slavery itself and were interpreted to protect the right to make decisions about one’s own body, the right to safe and fair labor conditions, the importance of educational and economic opportunity, the liberty to love who one chooses, and citizenship for all born on American soil, with minuscule exceptions.  

The Supreme Court tells us when these constitutional guarantees apply to claims of rights to abortion, economic liberty, racial discrimination, voting rights, and more. That a majority of justices reads the Constitution one way at any given moment does not end the contest for constitutional meaning. Majorities change. Political will shifts. American progress is forged by those who don’t acquiesce in narrow notions of “liberty,” “justice,” and “equality,” as Justice Thurgood Marshall noted in his commemoration of the Constitution’s bicentennial.  

Don’t Be Afraid to Dream Big. Our Constitution contains the seeds of genuine equality, meaningful justice, and thrilling liberty that have never borne fruit. While our steps toward the ideals articulated in our Declaration are impressive, vast wells of democratic potential remain untapped. The Second Founders’ vision of freedom has never been fully realized because we’ve never had leaders in Congress or the White House, and a majority of justices prepared to enforce these sweeping guarantees. With political courage and constitutional imagination, what could America look like? How could we make real, for all of us, the promises made to Americans in our national charter over the past 250 years?  

Let’s resolve on this Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday as the Republic turns 250 to celebrate how far we’ve come, acknowledge how far we must go, and, like King, dream big about what our American future could hold.