Corporate constitutional rights (also known as “corporate personhood”) were essentially “born” on this day in 1886 with the Supreme Court case Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad. The article below, published on this date last year, explores how this decision and those that followed have empowered corporations to override our rights and limit our ability to protect and improve our lives, families, communities, and the natural world.

We mark this anniversary each year to underscore a critical reality: corporate constitutional rights did not begin with the 2010 Citizens United decision. Nor are they limited to the Supreme Court’s creation of corporate First Amendment “free speech” rights.

This is exactly what makes Move to Amend unique among democracy-focused organizations. Simply reversing Citizens United or ending corporate political speech rights is not enough to achieve real democracy -- because we’ve never had a legitimate democracy.

That’s why we have always -- and always will -- call for the abolition of all corporate constitutional rights and for ending the doctrine that money spent in elections is equivalent to speech -- core elements of our We the People Amendment (HJR54).

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Let’s Wish Corporate Constitutional Rights a Very Unhappy Birthday

                                                                   
(Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

GREG COLERIDGE & JENNIE SPANOS
May, 10, 2024
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/corporate-constitutional-rights

At Move to Amend, we believe that real change comes from the ground up—and this month, we’re shining the spotlight on the incredible work being done by our Affiliate groups. From local petition drives to grassroots education, these groups are powering the movement toward the We the People Amendment (H.J.Res. 54).

We want to highlight the importance of our Affiliate Report submissions—these forms are not just a tool for tracking activities, but a way to showcase the relentless efforts of our base. Whether we're applying for grants or simply demonstrating the impact of our work, these reports are a vital part of making our collective efforts visible. They help us not only prove the impact we’re having but also inspire others to take action in their communities.

Here’s a look at the recent activities reported by our Affiliates:

On May 1, 2025, workers, immigrants, students, and families will rally in over 900 cities and all 50 states to protest what they are calling the “Billionaire agenda” and demand public investment in working people’s lives, not billionaires’ bank accounts. 

The list of events are HERE

Attend an event near you…and show your support for the We the People Amendment as a solution to the many individual problems we’re currently facing.

Cultural Change for the We the People Amendment

[fourth in a series] 

Yevgenia Nayberg                                                                                                                    

Human beings are undeniably part of and dependent on nature. History is filled with stories of people and groups who understood this reality and of others who ignored it, who didn’t care, or who arrogantly believed nature could be made subordinate to humanity.

Religious texts, mythologies and hymes on ecological awareness date back 5000 years. Caring for the natural world, the sacredness of wilderness and the need to control human’s negative impact on nature are among the earliest recorded human stories. “The goal of life is living in agreement with nature,” stated Zeno, the ancient Greek philosopher. 

Conversely, anthropological evidence dating back even further documents animal and plant extinctions from human activity. Nomadic communities migrated after exhausting local resources, and once agriculture emerged, destruction of land, water, and climate increased.. Intensive farming led to deforestation, land degradation,soil erosion and desertification in the early civilizations of the Southern Arabian Peninsula, Central Asia, Central America, Peru, and Northern Africa.

The Industrial Revolution sparked a public reaction that helped give birth to the modern environmental movement. Massive coal-fueled factories in Great Britain, and later, the United States, produced unprecedented pollution, leading to the first first large-scale environmental laws in 1863 in Britain. The Revolution also sparked a deeper critique of industrial capitalism’s role in destroying the natural world.

The environmental movement is not easy to define given its global reach. Even within the United States, the focus of this piece, there is enormous diversity and range of organizations, individuals, missions, beliefs, goals, strategies, tactics and cultural elements. Any summary description of and cultural lessons learned from it, even from a U.S.-centric perspective, will be vastly incomplete.