Birth Certificates Ugly Roots - Homeisode 49

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Hey what's up people it's your boy Quincy Murdock

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with another episode of Not Just Music podcast

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where we keep it real and honest. Hey quick question,

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you ever notice like those simple things that

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we think are so simple that we have in our possession

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that you know we just go and get when it's mandatory.

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for a license, driver's license, or a passport,

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or just enlisting in school, or all your daily

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activities, you're gonna need this piece of paper,

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but a big piece of paper. And that is the birth

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certificate. A lot of us take this for granted,

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man, the birth certificate, to have a birth certificate.

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And the Black history and birth certificates

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and birth period goes deep. And I want to read

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something. Birth certificates have a complicated

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history in relation to Black Americans, serving

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both as denial of identity and pathway to rights,

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particularly in the Jim Crow South. Discriminatory

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laws like Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of

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1924 mandated the recording of race at birth,

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often enforcing a one -drop rule, and classifying

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people as colored to deny rights and control

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social structures. Historically, non -white Americans,

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including many Black people, were less likely

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to have births registered especially those born

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outside of hospitals which hinder access to work

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and pensions and other services. I want y 'all

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to check this clip out. The Miami -Dade woman

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says she is stuck in limbo trying to get her

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real ID driver's license. The reason? She cannot

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prove that she was born in the United States.

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Good evening. I'm Jim Berry. And I'm Najah Sherman.

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Thank you for joining us. This all comes as the

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deadline to get the real ID change is approaching

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in just two weeks. CBS News Miami's Tanya Francois

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explains how state and federal lawmakers are

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stepping in to help Tanya. That's right, Jim.

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Jeanette Gant Palmer was born at home in South

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Carolina during the Jim Crow era. The birth certificate

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was never issued and without it, the DMV will

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not renew her license. Jeanette Gant Palmer was

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born in Aiken County, South Carolina back in

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February of 1949. 76 years blessed. But this

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retired postal worker has called Miami home for

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55 years. My car is paid for. My house is paid

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for. I'm going to drive. She's had several Florida

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driver's licenses in the past, showing us her

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latest two. On the day before her birthday, she

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went to renew it and hit a roadblock. After waiting

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two hours in the line, I said, I'd like to renew

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my driver's license. Oh no, we need this and

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we need that. For what? What reason? I never

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had it before. Gant Palmer needed her birth certificate

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or passport to prove her identity. It's part

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of the new real ID program that takes effect

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next month. Gant Palmer has neither. She says

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she's been trying to get her birth certificate

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her whole life. Back in those days, we were born

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at home. There's nobody going to no hospital.

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The lady came to your house to help your mom

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have the baby. For 42 years, she worked at the

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post office. She also drove school buses with

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a valid license. So how are you able to get a

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driver's license to begin with? That's what I

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asked the driver's license face. Gant Palmer

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says she went to the DMV with every document

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she has trying to verify her legal existence,

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including her Social Security card. She also

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has this letter from the state of South Carolina

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saying they've searched through decades of records

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and there's no proof of her birth. I called the

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Aiken County, South Carolina Office of Vital

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Statistics. They said they can get Gant Palmer

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a delayed birth certificate, but it's a lengthy

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process. It involves forgetting her school records

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from way back in the 1950s. They say she can

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also get a court order from a judge. So my aunt

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is also my constituent. Florida State Representative

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Ashley Gantt is Gantt Palmer's niece. She stepped

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in trying to help. I was able to get an extension

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for 90 days. I'm probably going to reach out

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to a house member that I met who serves in South

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Carolina. So what are you gonna do? I don't know.

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God's gonna work it out though. I don't know.

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But I need my driver's license. I know that much.

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Okay. Hysterical use of birth records. Okay,

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the Jim Crow era and white supremacy. Birth registrations

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became a tool of white supremacy's laws like

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Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924 required

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that a person's race, white or color be recorded

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at birth. It's a lot of people that still fighting

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to get these birth certificates. A lot of the

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black Americans that were slaves or you know

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of their era and when it was a lot of racial

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tensions going on a lot of hospitals wouldn't

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even allow black Americans into the hospitals

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so what happened was you had a lot of black families

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having babies at home you know and these births

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weren't recorded some of these births weren't

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recorded so A lot of people out running around

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with no birth certificate. I don't fail. It's

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crazy, right? Okay, so it says the dream crowd

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error was a period of American history from the

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late 19th century to mid 20th century when racial

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segregation and discrimination against African

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Americans were enforced through state and law

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Local laws known as dream Jim Crow laws these

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laws mandated segregation and virtually all aspects

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of public and private life relegating black people

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to second -class citizenship and reinforcing

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white supremacy they ever ended with the passage

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of landmark legislation like the Civil Rights

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Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 so

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we have the one drop rule Okay, what was the

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one drop rule the one drop rule? was a social

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and legal principle in the United States that

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classified any individual with any known African

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-American ancestry, no matter how distant as

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black. It was a tool of white supremacy that

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enforced segregation and maintained social by

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creating a rigid, binary racial system. Historical

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origins, the concept of the One Drop Rule. emerged

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in the 17th and the 18th century as white colonists

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dealt with increasing population of mixed -race

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individuals. Laws were passed to limit rights

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of mixed -race individuals and prevent unification

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of poor white and black populations, which possessed

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a threat to the ruling class. The rule also served

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to expand the number of enslaved people and their

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descendants as a mixed -race child born to an

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enslaved mother, was automatically considered

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enslaved. During the Jim Crow era, the rule became

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a driving force behind legal segregation, with

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nine southern states adopting one drop, statues

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between 1910 and 1930. The most infamous of these

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were Virginia's Racial Integrity Act of 1924,

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championed by white supremacist Walter Ashby

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Klecker. What's going on? It's your boy Dwarne

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what impact does this have? Me reading all this,

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what impact does this have on black Americans

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to this day? people are still going through this.

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So the impact that this has of not having a birth

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certificate from mainly black African Americans.

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The rule denied multiracial individuals the right

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to claim a mixed heritage, forced them into a

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single racial identity and creating a larger

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black population. This also led to phenomenon

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of passing where light -skinned black individuals

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could try to live as white. to access greater

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opportunities. Sound like that's still going

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on today, huh? You know, light -skinned advantages,

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you know. Though this came at the cost of serving

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all family ties to Black community, legal challenges

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and legacy, the One Drop Rule was legally dismantled

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through the Civil Rights Movement with key Supreme

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Court ruling like Loving versus Virginia. 1967,

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striking down laws that enforce racial classifications.

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In the 1980s, a Louisiana law that still defined

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a person as black based on having a trace of

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black ancestries was finally overturned. Today,

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while the One Drop Rule is no longer legally

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enforced, its legacy continues to influence perceptions

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of race and has shaped Black Americans. And then

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I want to read. A birth certificate itself cannot

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deny rights as it's a document confirming identity

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and citizenship. However, issues can arise from

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disputes over its validity or interpression of

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bright right citizenship with grant citizens

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to the most individuals born in the U .S. Misinformation

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and legislative efforts such as potential changes

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to the definition of subject to jurisdiction

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or. Burright citizenship could lead to attempts

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to deny rights based on birth certificate status

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through legal basis, but such actions is continuously.

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And then I want to read, how does birth certificates

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relate to rights? Like I started out saying,

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this piece of paper, this document is important

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for you to just exist in America, to be able

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to live in America. You need this. Birth certificates

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are big. So how birth certificates relate to

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rights? Proof of identity and citizenship. A

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birth certificate is an official legal document

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that establishes a person's identity and can

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prove their citizenship and right to live in

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the U .S. Basis for rights. The birth certificate

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serves as evidence for applying for essential

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services in documents such as passport, driver's

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license, and other benefits which are connected

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to rights like freedom of movement and public

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services. Potential of denial of rights. This

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is, you know, why someone might be denied or

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were denied. Disputes overvalid -validity. A

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birth certificate could be challenged as fraudulent

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or incorrect, which might lead to a denial of

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services or rights until the issue is resolved.

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Misinterpretation or misinformation. Some individuals

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or groups may spread misinformation about birthright

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citizenship, attempting to deny rights based

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on misunderstanding how it works or who is considered

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subject to U .S. jurisdiction. Legislative challenges.

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There are efforts and proposals like the Birthright

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Citizenship Act of 2025. Now, this is important

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because this was just established by the government

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and a lot of people are what those that didn't

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have birth certificates. They are dealing with

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the repercussions of this law right here. So

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I want to read. These are efforts and proposals.

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There are efforts and proposals like Birthright

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Citizenship Act of 2025 to redefine the terms

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under which birthright citizenship is granted,

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which could potentially change how birth certificates

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are viewed and what rights are conferred to individuals

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born. As we know, the birth certificate is an

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important piece of paper or document and What

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I would say is, for the ones that may be trying

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to fight for their birth certificates, one thing

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you can do is go to these Ancestry's websites.

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Type in your name. It's also some, go to the

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public libraries. Research. Try to find as much

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as your background or your family tree that you

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know. Connect to people. Find out things. The

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internet is crucial. The library is crucial.

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Also, look at some of the slave documents. It's

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slave documents that might be still on file that

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might lead you to your family or might lead you

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to your birth, might lead you to your past, your

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history. So look into all these things like the

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slave trades and documents, whatever documentation

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they may have on your name or your family's name,

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look it up, research, all right? I hope everybody

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that hasn't found their birth certificate know

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their true identity, finds it. And the ones that

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have this birth certificate, this huge document,

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we need to appreciate it more and more because

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there's some people out here dying for birth

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certificate and can't get day to day a driver's

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license or a job or opportunity or just living

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because they don't have this one document. and

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that's the birth certificate. So yeah, this is

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another episode of Not Just Music Podcast by

00:15:37.429 --> 00:15:40.049
your boy Quincy Murdock. We'll be keeping really

00:15:40.049 --> 00:15:42.309
honest. Peace.