Commemorate Constitution Day with a Distinguished Panel of Experts at the Voting Rights Forum on Friday, September 15
New York, NY, August 21, 2023—Teachers and students are encouraged to livestream the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History’s Voting Rights Forum, held September 15 at 2 p.m. ET at Stuyvesant High School in New York City.
The panelists for the Voting Rights Forum—representing a wide range of expert perspectives on American history and politics—will discuss the history and evolution of voting rights as well as contemporary issues concerning voting and federalism:
- John Avlon (CNN Senior Political Analyst)
- Professor Akhil Reed Amar (Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science, Yale University, and co-host of the Amarica’s Constitution podcast)
- Professor Nicole Hemmer (Director of the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Center for the Study of the Presidency and Associate Professor of History, Vanderbilt University, and co-host of the Past Present and This Day in Esoteric Political History podcasts)
- The Hon. Myrna Pérez (United States Circuit Court Judge for the Second Circuit)
- Professor Bertrall Ross (Justice Thurgood Marshall Distinguished Professor of Law and Director, Karsh Center for Law and Democracy, University of Virginia)
- Jeanette M. Senecal (Senior Director of Mission Impact, League of Women Voters)
The livestream of this forum is free and open to all—register here.
About “The Right to Vote: The Role of States and the US Constitution”
The Gilder Lehrman Institute received the 2022 Leonore Annenberg Institute for Civics Award from the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania for the project “The Right to Vote: The Role of States and the US Constitution.” The project features numerous civics-oriented resources for students, teachers, and the general public:
- A series of essays by eminent historians for high school students that explore the role of state government and the US Constitution with regard to voting rights
- “Taking a Stand for Voting Rights: Six States, Six Stories, One Goal,” a unit of lesson plans that focuses on how individuals in six different states attempted to expand access to the vote for different groups—African Americans, American Indians, and women. The unit includes an active civics component in which students discuss and debate contemporary voting rights issues.
- Ten $500 “Voting Rights Prizes” for student work
- Who Can Vote?: A Brief History of Voting Rights in the US, a seven-panel traveling exhibition and an accompanying four-part digital exhibition
- Three two-hour teacher professional development sessions on voting rights (two in October 2023)
- A Voting Rights Forum (September 15, 2023) to coincide with Constitution Day
About the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History was founded in 1994 by Richard Gilder and Lewis E. Lehrman, visionaries and lifelong supporters of American history education. The Institute is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to K–12 history education while also serving the general public. The Institute’s programs have been recognized by awards from the White House, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Organization of American Historians, the Council of Independent Colleges, and the National Daughters of the American Revolution. Visit gilderlehrman.org to learn more.
Press Contact
Josh Landon, Director of Marketing and Communications
landon@gilderlehrman.org
(646) 366-9666, ext. 137
###