The winter 2023 edition of Respect, the Foundation’s diversity newsletter is now available. Respect’s winter issue contains articles on the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, book banning and using rap lyrics as evidence in a criminal trial. A PDF of the winter issue can be downloaded or individual articles can be read and printed from Respect’s blog, The Rundown.
Any questions, contact the editor of Respect, Jodi L. Miller. She can be reached via email at jmiller@njsbf.org.
Here are the headlines from the winter 2023 issue:
Legality of Abortion Up to the States
In June 2022, through its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that abortion—a medical procedure to intentionally end a pregnancy—is not a right protected by the U.S. Constitution. As a result, access to abortion is no longer legally protected on a federal level. Now, states can determine to what extent abortion will be legal or banned within its own borders. READ MORE
Does Banning Books Violate the First Amendment?
At the start of every school year, there are renewed efforts to ban books in school libraries and public libraries. According to the American Library Association (ALA), the 2021-2022 school year had a record number of book ban requests and the present school year is on track to break that record. READ MORE
Using Rap Lyrics as Evidence in Court
In his song, Folsom Prison Blues, Johnny Cash wrote: “I shot a man in Reno just to watch him die.” Should that line be taken literally? Did Johnny Cash really shoot someone?
Artistic freedom is a right afforded under the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment; however, many rap artists that run afoul of the law have had their lyrics held against them in a court of law. READ MORE
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