Author and social commentator Angel Carmell is sounding the alarm over what she describes as a coordinated political movement to reshape the U.S. Constitution, warning that efforts targeting the 14th Amendment and state legislatures could have sweeping consequences for Black Americans and voting rights nationwide.
In a viral Instagram video, Angel Carmell argued that recent political attacks on constitutional protections are not isolated incidents, but part of a broader strategy tied to conservative efforts to secure control over state governments and eventually alter the U.S. Constitution through an Article V constitutional convention.
“This isn’t chaos, ladies and gentlemen,” Carmell said in the video. “This is choreography.”
Carmell’s comments came after she referenced remarks reportedly made by Alabama House Speaker Leah Bader criticizing the 14th Amendment, the post-Civil War constitutional amendment that granted citizenship and equal protection under the law to formerly enslaved Black Americans and established birthright citizenship.
“That’s the amendment that made Black Americans citizens,” Carmell said. “Equal protection under law, birthright citizenship — when they come for the 14th, they’re coming for us.”
The 14th Amendment, ratified in 1868 during Reconstruction, remains one of the most consequential amendments in American constitutional history. It has served as the legal foundation for landmark civil rights rulings involving racial equality, due process, school desegregation, same-sex marriage and citizenship rights.
Carmell warned that conservative political organizations are pursuing a long-term strategy centered on controlling state legislatures in order to trigger an Article V constitutional convention, a process that allows states to propose constitutional amendments outside of Congress.
Under Article V of the Constitution, 34 state legislatures are required to call a convention. Carmell claimed that supporters of the movement have already secured backing from 20 states.
“The Heritage Foundation, the architects of Project 2025, are leading the charge,” she said. “And unlike executive orders, whatever gets written into that Constitution cannot be reversed by a future president.”
Project 2025, a conservative governing blueprint developed by The Heritage Foundation and allied groups, has become a flashpoint in national political debates over the future direction of federal agencies, civil rights policy and executive authority.
Carmell also tied the constitutional debate to ongoing battles over voting rights and voter suppression, arguing that local and state elections now carry national constitutional implications.
“That’s why they want the state legislatures,” she said. “That’s why they’re going after Southern seats. Your local vote is now a constitutional vote. That’s why they’re working so hard to suppress it.”
Her remarks arrive amid growing national concern over restrictive voting laws, redistricting disputes and legal challenges involving election access across several Southern states. Civil rights advocates have repeatedly warned that changes to voting laws disproportionately affect Black voters and communities of color.
The prospect of a constitutional convention has long generated controversy among legal scholars and political observers across ideological lines. Supporters argue it could help impose fiscal restraints and limit federal power, while critics fear it could open the door to sweeping constitutional revisions affecting civil liberties, voting protections and federal governance.
Carmell’s video quickly circulated across social media platforms, where many users echoed concerns about the future of voting rights and constitutional protections in the United States.
