U.S.-born Black people should keep an eye on the birthright citizenship debate
Trump asks Supreme Court to rehear birthright citizenship case although rehearings haven't been done in 60 years
The following post is part of my former Substack publication “One Black Woman’s Vote” that is now in “I Do See Color.” To see more OBWV posts from 2026, click here. For 2025 OBWV posts, click here. For 2021-2024 OBWV posts, click here. New OBWV posts will be published by the second Saturday of each month.
Any time Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas opposes something that affects minorities, I keep a closer eye on his argument. Why? Thomas is a member and frequent speaker of the Federalist Society, a leading conservative and libertarian legal organization.
What is the Federalist Society?
Start at the 1:51 mark for more information on the Federalist Society.
Even if all of the mirrors in his home are broken, Thomas cannot deny he is a (delusional) Black man. However, he and Uncle Ruckus (from “The Boondocks”) might be competing for who is most likely to salivate over anybody non-Black, and 98% of his votes reflect this. His outspoken opinions about slavery and birthright citizenship are getting my attention as much as his take on the Voting Rights Act.
Recommended Read: “Does anybody hate women more than Justice Clarence Thomas? ~ 8-1 ruling: Supreme Court rejects Second Amendment challenge allowing people with restraining orders to own a gun”
What happened with the Supreme Court vote about birthright citizenship?
The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision affirming birthright citizenship — and the immediate pushback from political leaders, including the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson calling on Congress to challenge it — will not be a distant constitutional debate. In fact, in the past 24 hours, Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to “rehear” the birthright citizenship case and claimed their vote was “absolutely insane.” Keep in mind the Supreme Court hasn’t reheard a decided case in 60 years.
In the past 24 hours, Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to “rehear” the birthright citizenship case. Keep in mind the Supreme Court hasn’t reheard a decided case in 60 years.
For Black people born in the United States, the 6-3 decision and the re-hearing request carries personal stakes. It touches history, identity, family stability and the ongoing question of who gets to fully belong in America.
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In a 6–3 decision, the Court upheld the long-standing interpretation of the 14th Amendment: Anyone born on U.S. soil is a U.S. citizen. The birthright citizenship debate has deep roots in the post–Civil War era. It was designed, in part, to guarantee citizenship to formerly enslaved Black people and their descendants after the American Civil War.
For Black people, that stance isn’t just legal doctrine. It ties directly to freedom. To no one’s surprise, Thomas was among the three dissenting justices (along with Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch). Their three votes raise important questions about the Supreme Court’s differing views on constitutional interpretation and what the 14th Amendment guarantees. And judging from Thomas’s 91-page dissent (more than three times as long as Justice John Roberts’s opinion), this Black man will not be content until everybody Black but him is enslaved again.
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This birthright citizenship debate may sound like it's just targeting Hispanic people, which is depressing and alarming on its own, but Black people almost always end up getting dragged into any kind of equal rights and voting drama.