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WELLNESS CHECK
This edition leans...

Hey Below the Fold fam,

We know we sent a long, negative story yesterday. So with our promise of keeping News Wellness always in mind, we’re sharing a short, positive story today! And it’s full of interesting facts about the length of U.S. state constitutions...

TODAY'S STORY

Alabama takes first step towards removing their constitution’s racist language
Sun Sep 19

Alabama has the longest state constitution in America — by 10x. It all started in 1901 when the entire constitution was rewritten with explicit goals to establish White supremacy in the state. In doing so, a rule was written requiring an amendment to the constitution every time a law in the state — even one specific to only one county — is changed. For example, a constitutional amendment would need to be written for something as simple as prohibiting the overgrowth of weeds in a county.

The resulting Alabama constitution is three times longer than the world's next longest (in India) at approximately 389,000 words. And now, a new policy effort hopes to not only make this document easier to navigate, but also remove explicitly racist language such as:

Section 256, which states that children are to be segregated in the school system, although already outlawed by the landmark Supreme Court ruling on Brown v. Board of Education.
Section 259, which includes requirements that disenfranchise Black voters, such as literacy tests and poll taxes.
Section 32, which essentially says slavery is permissible as punishment for a crime. This section has served as a loop-hole for free prison labor, mostly of Black and Brown individuals. Similar language exists in the 13th Amendment of the U.S. constitution, also with calls for removal.

While many say these changes will unlikely change how the state already operates, politicians hope the symbolic move encourages the establishment of more businesses in the state and economic growth. But getting to this point hasn’t been easy with two failed attempts already. Alabama voters will make a final decision on the revised draft next Fall.

If successful, Alabama would be on trend with other states removing racist symbols and language from founding documents, such as in Utah, Nebraska, and Rhode Island last year.

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Equal Justice Initiative has a petition moving to totally abolish slavery in the U.S. by amending the 13th Amendment.

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RESOURCE CENTER

New York Times:
(Where we found this story)
5 days old | 11 minutes long

The Life of Law:
1901 changes to constitution
7 years old | 18 minutes long

Alabama Daily News:
Committee discusses slavery language
3 weeks old | 6 minutes long

Public Integrity:

States removing racist language
1 year old | 11 minutes long

Ballotpedia:
State constitution lengths
3 minutes long

Washington Monthly

War on 13th Amendment
5 months old | 22 minutes long

ICYMI (AGAIN)

Yesterday: Environmental defenders are being killed at alarming rates
Wednesday: The good, bad, and ugly of tech monitoring drivers
Tuesday: TikTok’s new automated technology

ASCII-ING ABOUT THE NEWS

(\
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   ==).     \__________\
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Preamble? More like Pre-ramble, am I right?!

Art Credit: Below the Fold

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Below the Fold - the longest constitution in the world

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