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On Its 169th Anniversary the Fugitive Slave Act Is Under Fire…And, Rightfully So

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As the nation spends the week reviewing the Constitution, a long-forgotten clause is drawing the attention of some Constitutional Law professors and even a Supreme Court Justice. The Fugitive Slave Act contained in Article IV, Section 2, Clause 3 of the Constitution, albeit mostly irrelevant, is still part of the veritable document.

“The Fugitive Slave Act is an embarrassment,” Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said recently during an appearance at a Clinton Foundation event in Little Rock, Arkansas that attracted a crowd of 15,000.

Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act on September 18, 1850 as part of the 1850 Compromise, which was struck between the Southern slave states and the Northern free states. The Act required that all slaves who escaped to the North would be returned to their masters and mandated that officials and residents of free states cooperate. It was nicknamed the “Bloodhound Act” for the dogs used to track down the enslaved.

Law professor and author, Andre Douglas Pond Cummings, described the hypocrisy of Southern lawmakers who typically opposed government intervention but advocated for the government’s involvement in the preservation of slavery by insisting that escaped men and women were captured and returned to the mistreatment and injustice they had fled.

“It’s one of the most ironic sections of the Constitution that exists,” Cummings said. “If you think about the South, the South is about ‘Don’t tread on me’…this provision says, ‘I don’t care if you’re a free state.’ It was an impingement of the South on the North.”

Today, awareness of the Fugitive Slave Act is increasing. In many instances, Black Americans are shocked to learn that the Act is still included in the Constitution.

On the 169th anniversary of the Fugitive Slave Act critics are urging Black Americans and others disturbed to discover that language about capturing slaves is still a part of the United States’ governing document to harness their “political willpower” for change.

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Trump Signs Executive Orders That Will Impact HBCUs and Black Schoolchildren

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order that will provide support for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and establish a White House Initiative on HBCUs to “deliver high-quality education to a growing number of students.”

According to the White House, the Initiative will help develop private-sector partnerships, institutional development and workforce preparation in technology, health care, manufacturing and finance. 

The president and CEO of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, Dr. Harry L. Williams said, “Today’s executive order serves as strong reaffirmation of President Trump’s support of investment of historically Black colleges and universities. This executive order should serve as a call-to-action for corporations, foundations, members of Congress and state lawmakers to redouble their efforts to support HBCUs and their students. TMCF looks forward to continued engagement with the administration and Congress to deliver results for HBCUs and the students they serve via appropriations and other legislative actions.”

On the same day, Trump signed another executive order that removes safeguards for African American schoolchildren by eliminating an Obama-era initiative to protect Black schoolchildren from excessive disciplinary action.

During the Obama administration, the first Black president’s administration created guidelines that sought to prevent school discipline from having a disproportionate effect on minority students. Trump revoked the civil rights initiative during his first term and Biden did not formally restore it. 

At his signing today, Trump said his decision was especially important to the current Education Secretary Linda McMahon, who held the signed order.

“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, schools were forced to consider equity and inclusion when imposing discipline,” McMahon said in a statement. “Their policies placed racial equity quotas over student safety – encouraging schools to turn a blind eye to poor or violent behavior in the name of inclusion.”

She added, “Disciplinary decisions should be based solely on students’ behavior and actions.

Studies show that Black students are punished more often than their white counterparts.

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President Jimmy Carter Appointed the First Black Woman to Lead a Federal Agency

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President Jimmy Carter advanced opportunities for African Americans throughout his life,
advocating for justice and peace consistent with the Christian values he embraced. Since his
death on December 29 at age 100, Mr. Carter’s praises have been sung from his home state of
Georgia to points around the globe. And while the former president’s one-term in the White
House is dismissed by some political pundits for a lack of policies or accomplishments that
changed the course of history, his character and integrity set him apart.


Carter became the first president to appoint a Black woman head of a federal agency. He chose
Patricia Roberts Harris to lead the Housing and Urban Development when he took office in
1977.


Harris said, “I feel deeply proud and grateful this President chose me to knock down this barrier, but also a little sad about being the ‘first Negro woman,’ because it implies we were not
considered before.”


Senator William Proxmire questioned Carter’s choice, saying Harris came from too much wealth and influence to be an effective leader. But Carter stood by his decision, and Harris stayed in the position for two years.


The 39th president’s name is also included on the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame.


Civil rights activist, Rev. Al Sharpton recalled a conversation he shared with Carter.


“It was very significant, I was talking there at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial, and I was talking to President Clinton and President Carter,” Sharpton recalled. “And when Clinton and I finished talking, President Carter touched me on my arm and said, ‘How are you doing with your ministry, Al? I see you out there with your activism. Don’t leave your ministry … keep your prayer life going.’ And you could tell he sincerely meant it. He was not one who talked about his religion as a political kind of something you could say to voters.”


President Joe Biden declared January 9, 2025, a national day of mourning. Millions watched the former president’s funeral on television as he was remembered as a man of honesty,
compassion and faith – which included championing the rights of Americans who knew firsthand the struggle of injustice

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The Congressional Black Caucus Prepares for “Important” Work

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The Congressional Black Caucus started the 119th Congress with its largest membership. There were 62 members sworn in today.

“On behalf of the entire Congressional Black Caucus, congratulations to the members of the Executive Committee of the 119th Congress. 53 years after our Caucus’ founding, our work to improve the lives and conditions of Black people in America is more important than ever before,” said CBC President Steven Horsford.

Photo Credit: Ron Busby, U.S. Black Chambers Inc.

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