The Sandra Day O’Connor Institute For American Democracy will present a complimentary online public forum Constitution Series: Equality and Justice for All on Thursday, April 8, 2021, at 1 p.m. EDT. The webcast, open to the public, will feature Dr. Carla Hayden, the nation’s 14th Librarian of Congress who has served under three presidential administrations. Dr. Hayden will speak on the topic of Enriching America’s Stories: Expanding Diverse Collections. Guest moderator for the forum will be Chevy Humphrey, President and CEO of the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry and a member of the Institute’s Board of Directors.
Dr. Hayden will provide insight into the 13th Amendment which abolished slavery in 1865, ratified by Congress and signed by President Abraham Lincoln. Additionally, she will discuss “Of the People: Widening the Path,” a new program funded by the Mellon Foundation which creates new opportunities for more Americans to engage with the Library of Congress and add their perspectives to the Library’s collections. Of The People will allow the national library to share a more inclusive American story and expand the Library’s efforts to ensure that a diversity of experiences is reflected in our historical record and how we might use those materials to better understand our past.
The Constitution Series was launched by the Institute in 2020 to convene civil dialogue and foster solutions. With core values of inclusivity, civility and collaboration, the organization founded by Justice O’Connor believes that the expressed ideals of this great nation require exploring issues of injustice. The series hopes to broaden perspectives and increase understanding through thoughtful listening, mutual respect and shared purpose.
Justice O’Connor has stated that “in order to cultivate a set of leaders with legitimacy in the eyes of the citizenry, it is necessary that the path to leadership be visibly open to talented and qualified individuals of every race and ethnicity.”
Following Justice O’Connor’s retirement from the U.S. Supreme Court, she founded the O’Connor Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit organization to advance American democracy through multigenerational civil discourse, civic engagement, and civics education. For more information and to register for the free webcast, visit OConnorInstitute.org.
