The Black Abolitionist Archive, along with the Departments of History and Political Science and the McNichols Campus Library, invite Detroit Mercy students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community members to join us for our annual Constitution Day event on Monday, Sept. 18, from 12-1:30 p.m.
The event will be held in the Bargman Room, located on the second floor of the McNichols Campus Library. Light refreshments will be served, and all are welcome.
This year’s theme is “How Democratic is the Constitution?” and features a panel discussion with Professor of History Roy E. Finkenbine and Associate Professor of Political Science Genevieve Meyers.
September 17 is officially Constitution Day and Citizenship Day, so designated by a joint resolution of the United States Congress to commemorate the 1787 signing of the United States Constitution on that date. Each educational institution that receives Federal funds for a fiscal year is required to hold an educational program on Constitution Day about the United States Constitution for its students.
The U.S. Constitution did not envision a democratic government. It envisioned government by the few, lacking a significant voice for women, African Americans, and men without property. Over time, and often resulting from social and political movements by “the people,” it has taken on a more democratic form. In the 1960s, things changed. In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court endorsed the principle of “one person, one vote,” mandating electoral equality at the state and local level. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 guaranteed African Americans the vote.
Yet undemocratic elements remain in the Constitution. The most obvious are the Senate (where all states have equal representation regardless of population) and the Electoral College. As a result of this, a voter in Wyoming has seven times the political power of a voter in California.
Please join us for what will, no doubt, be a lively and perhaps sobering panel discussion!
