A New Birth of Civil Rights

Authors

Louis Brown, The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
Danielle Brown
Roger Severino

Streaming Media

Document Type

Event

Publication Date

2-8-2023

Abstract

On February 8, the Center for Law and Human Person (CLHP) held discussion, A New Birth of Civil Rights, at The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (Catholic Law) in Washington, D.C. The panel was introduced and moderated by the CLHP Associate Director and Lecturer at Catholic Law, Louis Brown. The discussion opened with the question of "What are Civil Rights?," and with a brief history of civil rights in the United States by Roger Severino, Vice President of Domestic Policy, The Heritage Foundation, and Danielle Brown, Associate Director of the ad hoc Committee Against Racism at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The American Civil Rights movement in particular the American legal civil rights movement was based on a belief in the ideals articulated in the Declaration of Independence, that all people are created equal and endowed by God with the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The Declaration of Independence’s advancements of the rights to life, liberty, and happiness affirm a commitment to the equal God given dignity of every person and therefore equal justice under the law. This ideal inherently proclaims the reality that the state and the laws that govern the people in our nation must respect and protect the dignity and God-given rights of each person. Tragically, the United States failed to live up to these ideals because of the culture of death that was exhibited most dramatically in the form of the institution of slavery and the racism and the dehumanization of Native Americans.

Additional Information

Recommended Citation

Brown, Louis; Brown, Danielle; and Severino, Roger, "A New Birth of Civil Rights" (2023). Other Lectures & Events. 71.
https://scholarship.law.edu/other_lectures/71