Sherrilyn Ifill
The center, which has been in development since 2023, will be housed at Howard University School of Law and will take a multidisciplinary approach to examining the 14th Amendment, connecting law, business, and the arts to advance understanding of its principles.
"The 14th Amendment forged principles of equality and due process that remain foundational to our understanding of justice and citizenship," said Dr. Anthony K. Wutoh, Howard University provost and chief academic officer. "Its enduring legacy, constantly tested and reinterpreted, demands rigorous study in our universities today."
The new center builds upon Howard Law School's historical significance in 14th Amendment jurisprudence. Under the leadership of Charles Hamilton Houston, who served as dean from 1929 to 1935, the law school helped develop the strategic litigation plan that would eventually end legal segregation in the United States. This work was carried forward by legendary figures like Thurgood Marshall, who later became the first Black Supreme Court Justice.
Civil rights lawyer Sherrilyn Ifill, who holds the Vernon E. Jordan, Jr., Esq. Endowed Chair on Civil Rights at the Law School, will lead the center. Ifill previously served as the seventh president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) for nearly a decade.
"The launch of this Center comes at an important time in our country," said Ifill. "It's ratification opened a new chapter in American democracy, and the boldness of its promise and vision remains to be fully realized."
The 14th Amendment, ratified after the Civil War, guarantees birthright citizenship and equal protection under the law. It was originally designed to ensure full citizenship for Black Americans and has been central to many civil rights advances throughout American history.
Howard University School of Law Dean Roger Fairfax emphasized the significance of establishing the center at Howard: "Given Howard Law's historical role as a guardian of the principles embedded in the amendment, I can think of no more appropriate institution to house the Center."
The center's work will be organized around four pillars: Law & Policy, Education and Curriculum, Art, Imagination, and Narrative, and Democratic Institutions. This framework will allow for a comprehensive examination of the amendment's impact across society.
The center's launch will include a full-day symposium featuring law professors, community activists, artists, judges, and elected officials engaged in dialogue about the 14th Amendment and visions for democracy.
The center joins Howard's legacy of producing distinguished alumni who have championed 14th Amendment principles, including Judge Robert Carter, former Virginia Governor Douglas Wilder, and scholar and Episcopal priest Pauli Murray, in addition to Marshall and Jordan.
