Pursuing ‘equity’ over equality reveals the nation’s moral regression

Harlan never thought of Kentucky as Robert E. Lee thought of Virginia, as his “country.” Rather, one formative influence on Harlan were the nation-building principles by which his namesake strengthened national power, and hence national identity over states’ rights. Another influence was Kentucky Sen. Henry Clay’s sense of national destiny. A third influence was his brother, if such he was: Robert Harlan, the son of an enslaved mother and white father, presumably John’s, became one of the most successful Black Americans of the 19th century, and a constant reminder to his jurist brother of the potentialities of former slaves.