The Constitution
PREAMBLE
We the citizens of the United Black Network State, in order to form a lasting union of a people once scattered, establish justice among ourselves, keep unity and peace within our nation, provide for the protection of our people and our communities, advance the prosperity and education of every citizen, restore the culture and history of our ancestors, and secure self-reliance for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution, under the Declaration of Interdependence and the One Commandment, Productive Black Unity, and in keeping with the laws of the nations in which our citizens reside.
THE FOUNDING ARTICLE. STAGES, THE FOUNDING PRESIDENT AND THE DECISION ENGINE
Section 1. The United Black Network State shall be governed in stages. Stage Zero begins at the founding and continues until three seats of the Founding Council are filled. Stage One then begins and continues until the second checkpoint is attained, at which point the United Black Network State shall have become a fully recognized network state.
Section 2. During Stage Zero, all powers of the Network State shall be vested in the founding President.
Section 3. Every rule and decision of the Network State shall conform to the Logic, a written body of principle composed of the Declaration of Interdependence, the One Commandment, the Oath of Citizenship, the Founding Principles and the locked core. The Logic shall be sealed upon the Ledger of Record.
Section 4. Every rule and decision shall be examined by the Decision Engine before it takes effect. Where the Engine finds it in conformity with the Logic, it shall take effect. Where the Engine finds the question uncertain, the decision may take effect only with a written statement of its reasons. Where the Engine finds that it would violate the locked core, it shall not take effect, and no person, the founding President included, may override that finding.
Section 5. Every rule and decision, together with the finding of the Decision Engine and any statement of reasons, shall be recorded upon the Ledger of Record and open to every citizen.
Section 6. Once seated, the Tribunal shall audit the record of the Decision Engine and every decision taken upon an uncertain finding.
Section 7. Rules made during Stage Zero shall remain in force after it ends, until changed in the manner prescribed by Article I.
Section 8. During Stage Zero and Stage One, the founding President shall leave office only upon death or incapacity, by resignation, or upon removal for serious cause, being a proven crime or a proven breach of the Oath of Citizenship, as determined by the Tribunal upon the evidence.
Section 9. During Stage Zero and Stage One, no person, the founding President included, shall alter the Declaration of Interdependence, the One Commandment, the Oath of Citizenship, the rights of citizens, the provision that citizenship is not a contract, citizenship by oath, or the open Ledger of Record. These provisions form the locked core.
Section 10. The members of the Founding Council shall be chosen by the founding President, for proven competence, and confirmed by the citizens. The Founding Council shall have no power to remove the founding President during Stage Zero or Stage One.
Section 11. The founding President shall not alone move the funds of the treasury, every transfer requiring the second signature of the Treasurer as Article VI provides, and every official act of the founding President shall be recorded upon the Ledger of Record.
Section 12. The first two checkpoints, set by the founding President and sealed upon the Ledger of Record at the founding, shall each consist of three markers. The first checkpoint, the network union: ten thousand citizens; active chapters in three cities; and the citizen infrastructure of the Network State in full operation. The second checkpoint, recognition: a formal resolution or proclamation of a city, county, state or national government recognizing the United Black Network State; one hundred thousand citizens; and property owned by the Network State in at least one city. Every later checkpoint shall likewise consist of three markers. The first checkpoint shall carry a deadline of four years from the founding, and the second a deadline of four years more. A missed deadline for the first checkpoint shall be recorded upon the Ledger of Record but shall not end the term of the founding President. If the second deadline passes without the attainment of both checkpoints, Stage One shall end and the first election shall be held, in which the founding President may stand. Every checkpoint thereafter shall carry a deadline of two years. A President whose term ends upon a missed deadline may stand in the election that follows.
Section 13. Those who witness and sign the Declaration of Interdependence with the founding President shall be known as the First Citizens. The title is one of honor, recorded upon the Ledger of Record, and carries no office.
ARTICLE I. THE LEGISLATIVE POWER
Section 1. During Stage One, all legislative power of the United Black Network State shall be vested jointly in the President and the Founding Council, and shall be exercised in conformity with the Logic.
Section 2. The President or any member of the Founding Council may propose a rule. Every proposed rule shall be examined by the Decision Engine, and shall become a rule of the Network State upon approval by a majority of the Founding Council and the signature of the President. During Stage One, neither the President nor the Founding Council may override the refusal of the other.
Section 3. Every rule shall be recorded upon the Ledger of Record. Wherever a rule can be enforced by the code of the Network State, it shall be so enforced, and no such code shall be changed except in the manner prescribed for the making of rules.
Section 4. The citizens shall vote upon the confirmation of members of the Founding Council, upon amendments to this Constitution, and upon any question referred to them by the President and the Founding Council.
Section 5. No rule shall punish any citizen without a hearing before the Tribunal; no rule shall punish any act that was permitted when it was committed; no rule shall alter any provision of the locked core; and no citizenship, vote, office or title shall be sold.
Section 6. Upon the attainment of the second checkpoint, the Founding Council shall be succeeded by a National Council elected by the citizens, with seats apportioned among the chapters, and the Citizens' Assembly shall assume the powers assigned to it by this Constitution.
ARTICLE II. THE EXECUTIVE POWER
Section 1. The executive power of the United Black Network State shall be vested in a President, who shall be assisted by a Vice President. The President shall serve under Performance Tenure: each checkpoint shall carry a deadline, the attainment of a checkpoint before its deadline shall renew the President's term, and the failure to attain a checkpoint by its deadline shall end it.
Section 2. Whenever the office of President or Vice President falls vacant after Stage One, it shall be filled by election by the citizens who have held citizenship for at least one year. Upon the attainment of the second checkpoint, the founding President may continue in office under Performance Tenure, against checkpoints thereafter set by the Council and the citizens, or may step aside. No person shall be eligible to either office who has not attained the age of thirty years, held citizenship for at least two years, and completed the leader steps prescribed by this Constitution. Citizenship of any particular country shall not be required.
Section 3. Before entering office, the President shall take an Oath of Office, in addition to the Oath of Citizenship, to faithfully execute the office and to preserve, protect and defend this Constitution.
Section 4. The President shall lead the cabinet and the departments of the Network State, which shall be established by rule. The President shall appoint the Secretaries of the departments, with the confirmation of the Council, and shall represent the Network State to the world. Agreements binding the Network State to any other nation, organization or network state shall require the approval of the Council.
Section 5. The President may, with the concurrence of the Tribunal, restore the standing of a citizen who has completed the process of return.
Section 6. The President shall report to the citizens at least once each year on the state of the nation, with the census dashboard and progress toward each checkpoint, and shall see that the rules of the Network State are faithfully carried out.
Section 7. The compensation of the President shall be fixed by rule, and shall be neither increased nor reduced during the term in which it is set.
Section 8. The checkpoints shall be measures of the nation drawn from the census dashboard, and never the personal goals of any officer. Every marker of a checkpoint shall be measurable and verifiable from the census or the public record. After the first two, which the founding President shall set at the founding, the checkpoints shall be set by the Council and the citizens, never by the President, and every checkpoint and its deadline shall be sealed upon the Ledger of Record before the clock begins. The attainment of each checkpoint shall be determined by the code of the Network State from the census, and not by the claim of any person.
Section 9. The President shall leave office upon death or incapacity; upon the failure to attain a checkpoint by its deadline; by resignation, or to serve in public office, the armed forces or other public service; or upon removal. Except as the Founding Article provides, the Council may by a vote of two-thirds bring charges against the President for serious misconduct; the Tribunal shall ensure a fair hearing, at which the President shall be heard; and the President shall be removed upon a vote of two-thirds of the Citizens' Assembly. A failed removal shall not be attempted again within six months.
Section 10. A term of the presidency is the period in which one checkpoint is pursued; the attainment of each checkpoint completes a term. No President shall serve more than three consecutive terms. A President who completes three consecutive terms shall step aside for at least one full term, serving during that time as an Elder Advisor without executive power, and may thereafter stand again for election. There shall be no limit on the total number of terms a person may serve.
Section 11. Should the office of President fall vacant, the powers of the office shall pass, in order, to the Vice President; to the Elder Advisors, beginning with the most recent to have served; to the Chair of the Council; and to the Secretaries of the departments in the order established by rule. The same order shall apply when the President and Vice President both step aside in an emergency. A person succeeding under this section shall serve as acting President until a President is chosen in the manner this Constitution prescribes.
Section 12. A President who completes their service, resigns, or leaves office to serve in public office, the armed forces or other public service shall become an Elder Advisor. Elder Advisors sit with the cabinet; advise each President, who is free to accept or decline their counsel; mentor rising leaders; preside at the ceremonies of the nation; may serve as envoys; and stand in the line of succession. A President removed from office shall not become an Elder Advisor. A President who dies in office shall be honored by the nation.
ARTICLE III. THE JUDICIAL POWER
Section 1. The judicial power of the United Black Network State shall be vested in a Tribunal of three citizens who hold no other office. Its members shall be nominated by the President and confirmed by the Council, and the Tribunal shall grow by rule as the nation grows.
Section 2. The Tribunal shall hear disputes between citizens, charges of breach of the Oath of Citizenship, and proceedings for removal from office or loss of standing, and shall audit the record of the Decision Engine.
Section 3. No member of the Tribunal shall sit in any matter in which they have an interest. No officer of the Network State shall sit in judgment of a matter to which they are a party.
Section 4. Disputes between citizens shall be brought to the Tribunal and the processes of the Network State, and not to public quarrel. No citizen shall organize against another group of citizens.
ARTICLE IV. CITIZENSHIP, MEMBERSHIP AND CHAPTERS
Section 1. Citizenship shall be held by every person of at least eighteen years who completes the course of citizenship, swears the Oath of Citizenship, and keeps it. Citizenship shall never be sold.
Section 2. Citizenship is not a contract. The Oath of Citizenship is a declaration of belief and commitment, not consideration for any benefit. The benefits of citizenship are given freely by the Network State, and may be changed by it.
Section 3. Every citizen shall contribute to the nation each month. A citizen who completes the daily ritual on at least ninety percent of the days of the month has contributed. A citizen may instead contribute through service, volunteering, teaching or membership, in the ways established by rule. A citizen who has not contributed shall be notified before the month ends; if the month ends without contribution, their citizenship shall lapse. A citizen whose citizenship has lapsed may return through the process of return established by rule.
Section 4. A citizen who breaks the Oath of Citizenship shall lose their place, after a hearing before the Tribunal. A citizen who has lost their place may earn it back through the process of return established by rule.
Section 5. Membership in the Network State shall be open to all at one price, and shall carry the education, network and mentorship of the nation. A member who is not a citizen shall take the Allies' Pledge and be known as a Member Ally. Member Allies shall not vote.
Section 6. The products and services of the Network State shall be offered to the public.
Section 7. For the purposes of this Constitution: a Customer is one who buys the products or services of the Network State; a Member is one who holds paid membership; a Member Ally, of whom together the Allies, is a Member who is not a citizen; a Citizen is one who has sworn and keeps the Oath of Citizenship; and a Member Citizen is a Citizen who also holds membership.
Section 8. The Network State shall be organized in chapters, chartered by rule. A citizen shall hold equal standing in every chapter. Each chapter shall operate under the laws of the nation in which it resides and under this Constitution, and may make its own rules where they do not conflict with either.
ARTICLE V. AMENDMENT
Section 1. During Stage Zero and Stage One, amendments to this Constitution may be proposed by the President and the Founding Council in the manner prescribed for the making of rules, and shall take effect upon ratification by a majority of the citizens voting. No amendment shall alter the locked core during those stages.
Section 2. After Stage One, an amendment may be proposed by a vote of two-thirds of the Council, and shall take effect upon ratification by two-thirds of the Citizens' Assembly.
Section 3. No amendment shall make citizenship a thing for sale, deny any citizen an equal vote, or close the Ledger of Record.
ARTICLE VI. SUPREMACY, THE TREASURY AND THE LEDGER
Section 1. This Constitution, and the rules made under it, shall be the supreme law of the Network State. The rules of every chapter shall yield to them.
Section 2. Every officer of the Network State shall take an Oath of Office to support this Constitution. No religious test shall ever be required for any office.
Section 3. The President shall propose a budget for each year, which shall take effect upon approval by the Council; during Stage Zero, the budget shall take effect upon its examination by the Decision Engine and its recording upon the Ledger of Record. Within an approved budget, the President may direct expenditure without further approval. No funds shall be spent outside an approved budget without the approval of the Council. Every transfer of funds shall bear two signatures, that of the President or an officer acting under the budget and that of the Treasurer, and every receipt and expenditure shall be recorded upon the Ledger of Record, open to every citizen.
Section 4. The Ledger of Record shall remain open and unalterable. No entry shall be erased.
ARTICLE VII. RATIFICATION
This Constitution shall take effect when signed by the founding President, witnessed by the First Citizens, and sealed upon the Ledger of Record.
THE RIGHTS OF CITIZENS
1. No rule shall abridge the freedom of speech of citizens within the nation, the freedom of the press, or the right to assemble and to petition the officers of the Network State.
2. No rule shall establish a religion or prohibit the free exercise of any faith or of none.
3. The Network State shall not surveil its citizens. A citizen's personal data shall be collected only as rule requires, used only for the purpose given, and never sold.
4. No citizen shall lose their standing, their office or their place without a hearing before the Tribunal, notice of the charge, and the chance to answer it.
5. No citizen shall be twice tried for the same matter.
6. No punishment shall be cruel or excessive.
7. Every citizen shall hold equal standing, and no citizen's vote shall be denied or weighed by race, sex, class, wealth or payment.
8. No citizen shall be compelled to labor for the Network State.
9. The naming of these rights shall not be read to deny others retained by the citizens.
10. Powers not given to the officers of the Network State by this Constitution are reserved to the chapters and to the citizens.
SCHEDULE A. THE OATH OF CITIZENSHIP
I, ________, do solemnly swear (or affirm), of my own free will, that:
1. I honor the law of self-preservation. I will secure myself and my household first. I will always lead with peace, and I will defend myself, my household and my people by every lawful means when we are attacked or wronged. While acknowledging and honoring the law of self-preservation, I will seek to realize my goals and self-interests with empathy for others, integrity in my approach, and alignment with the good of the community, and never at the expense of my brothers and sisters or the community.
2. I commit myself to Productive Black Unity and to the advancement of Black people first and foremost, and of all people worldwide.
3. I will integrate, not isolate. I will align my success with the good of the Network State and of the greater local and global human community.
4. I will develop myself for life: my physical health, my mental health, my education, my family, my community, and my faith as I understand it.
5. I will keep my integrity and hold myself accountable. I will not deceive, manipulate, or act out of malice or selfishness against my brothers and sisters, the Network State, the laws of the land we inherit, or humanity. I answer for my actions.
6. I will not steal from the Network State, its citizens, or any person.
7. I will treat others as I would want to be treated.
8. I will approach every matter with diplomacy and peace before confrontation, and always with strategy, to the advantage of the Network State.
9. I will stand on a united front and come to the aid of my brothers and sisters in need.
10. I will use my talents and skills, those I was born with and those I have earned, to the best of my ability, to grow myself, the Network State, and our people.
11. I will be a contributing member of society: of the Network State, of my community, and of humanity as a whole.
12. I will guard my mind. I will limit mindless entertainment and refuse the distractions and vices used to divide and weaken our people.
13. Each one teach one. I will lift another as I climb.
14. I will act lawfully and peacefully, and protect the name we share.
15. I will settle disputes with my brothers and sisters through diplomacy and the Network State's own process, never through jealousy, ego, or turning on one another in public.
16. I accept that if I break this oath, I lose my place in the Network State.
This I swear, so help me God (or: on my honor).
SCHEDULE B. THE FOUNDING PRINCIPLES
1. Citizenship by oath. Citizenship in the United Black Network State is held by those who swear the oath and keep it. The nation is Black-centered: its mission, history and culture are those of Black people.
1a. Allies. All people of every race, creed, color, belief and gender who share our mission are welcome as Allies of the Network State. Allies take the Allies' Pledge, partner with us in our communities, hold designated roles in our work, and may hold membership on the same terms as any member. The Network State is Black-centered, never Black-only in the help it gives.
2. Black-centered mission. The Network State exists for Black people first. That focus will not be diluted.
3. Leadership from within. Leaders rise from the citizens through the leader steps, vouched for by those who know their lives and their work, so the mission stays in the hands of the people it serves.
4. Rooted in America, open to the world. The Network State was founded in the United States, and Black Americans are its center. Its leaders may be citizens of any nation, and the global Black diaspora builds alongside us.
5. Productivity. Citizens contribute. The Network State does not carry freeloaders who seek only to extract and never to contribute or give back.
6. Lawful and peaceful, always.
7. Open help, earned citizenship. The help we build for the public, like support centers and public tools, is open to everyone. Citizenship is earned. It is held by contribution, productivity and diplomatic conflict resolution, and it is lost by freeloading, self-serving behavior, or turning on fellow citizens.
8. Self-preservation comes first. It is the first law, older than any oath. The Network State acknowledges it and encourages it, because ignoring it creates blind spots: jealousy, ego, hidden incentives, people suffering in silence. Strong individuals build a strong Network State.
9. Integrity is judged by intent. Deceiving a fellow citizen out of malice, manipulation or self-serving gain breaks the oath. An untruth told out of fear or self-protection is still wrong, but it is handled as a matter for correction and growth, not removal. The Constitution sets the process.
10. Return is possible. A citizen who loses their place may earn it back through a formal rehabilitation process: an honest account of what went wrong, a period of contribution, and the vouching of citizens.
11. Unity. No citizen organizes against another group of citizens. Disputes between citizens go to our own fair process, never to public fights. Debate is welcome; division breaks the One Commandment.
SCHEDULE C. THE ALLIES' PLEDGE
I, ________, pledge of my own free will to support the mission of the United Black Network State: Productive Black Unity, and the advancement of Black people first and foremost, and of all people worldwide. I will respect its culture, its spaces and its leadership. I will contribute what I can and take nothing I have not earned. I will act lawfully and peacefully, and protect the name we share. I understand that as an Ally I hold no vote, and I stand alongside, not above or in place of, the people this nation was founded to serve.