DICKINSON LAW HOLDING CONSTITUTION DAY EVENT WITH GUEST SPEAKER DEREK BLACK ON SEPTEMBER 17
August 2024 — Constitution Day is held annually on September 17 to commemorate the day in 1787 when Constitutional Convention delegates signed our nation’s governing document. Congress created the official remembrance in 2004. On that day each year, every educational institution receiving Title IV funds must put on an educational program related to the Constitution.
Penn State Dickinson Law approaches Constitution Day as an opportunity to learn while sparking insightful conversations. Last year, law students participated in an event held over Zoom by the Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement, reading picture books related to the Constitution to elementary students. In other years, Dickinson Law has collaborated with Dickinson College to hold panels and lectures.
This year, Dickinson Law will host a talk by Derek Black, Professor of Law, Ernest F. Hollings Chair in Constitutional Law, and Carolina Distinguished Professor at the University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law. His address is titled “Public Education and Constitutional Democracy: Are the Bonds Fraying?"
The event, which takes place Tuesday, September 17, at 2 p.m. in Room 114, is open to the public. This program is supported by the Macon Bolling Allen Civil Rights and Transitional Justice Program at Dickinson Law, a fund established to address civil rights and/or transitional justice, with emphasis on juvenile justice issues.
“Defending the U.S. Constitution and promoting a strong rule of law are the duties of any program of legal education. Constitution Day reinforces our commitment to our democratic values of equality, fairness, and justice,” said Penn State Dickinson Law Dean and Donald J. Farage Professor of Law Danielle M. Conway.
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Jeffrey A. Dodge spearheads the planning for Constitution Day celebrations. Dickinson Law often highlights topics of the moment in the law, and he noted this year’s event comes at a pivotal time for the document.
“I truly think that Constitution Day is more significant and important than ever,” said Dodge, who also serves as assistant professor of law and Joseph H. Goldstein Faculty Scholar. “With all of the various threats to our democracy, it is an opportunity to pause and think critically about our Constitution and its future.”
Constitution Day is recognized not just by law schools but also by other schools and universities receiving federal funds. Yet Dodge said the day carries particular resonance for law students.
“From a compliance standpoint, we want to ensure our students can afford to go to law school and access Title IV financial aid funds, so Constitution Day is one of a long list of things required of our school,” said Dodge. “But from a broader standpoint, Constitution Day makes curricular sense for us. It is part of our everyday existence here at Dickinson Law. It is at the core of our curriculum.”
Black, who frequently writes about public education, democracy, and civil rights and liberties, is an ideal speaker for this moment. “I have admired Professor Derek Black’s work for over a decade. He is a remarkable colleague, teacher, and scholar who has dedicated his career to meeting the justice needs of our society by advocating for sound and fair laws and policies at the intersection of constitutional law and public education, particularly educational equity for students disadvantaged by inequitable systems and practices,” said Conway. “Our students will benefit from hearing his thoughts on how public education can reinforce democracy.”
Dodge said this year’s talk will invite students to consider the state of our public education system as it relates to stated and unstated constitutional requirements.
“Increasingly, educational settings have become battlegrounds for political issues,” said Dodge. Indeed, as he assembled the Constitution Day program earlier this summer, two significant policy developments related to public education generated national headlines. Louisiana passed a law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public classroom, and Oklahoma mandated the presence and teaching of the Bible in public classrooms for grades five through twelve.
“It raised questions for me about what it means to operate a public education system nowadays. I think it is very different than when I went to school. I am also curious about what the future holds. Because of that, reaching out to Derek Black as the speaker made a lot of sense,” said Dodge.
Focusing on the fundamental rules we abide by
Black, who is also director of the Constitutional Law Center, thinks events like Constitution Day remind law students of why those in a democracy must agree to follow the same rules. He noted that over the past decade, the notion of collectively following those agreed-upon rules has faced increasing challenges.
“The Constitution represents the most fundamental rules that we have, which we all must abide by,” said Black. “This is one part of our democracy that we must all rally around and defend, even if we might interpret certain parts of it differently. As soon as we stop rallying around the document in a civic and collective way, our constitutional democracy begins to crumble.”
Black’s talk will explore the foundational role public education has played in American constitutional democracy from its founding through today, at both the federal and state levels, and then examine current events in public education that may represent an erosion of constitutional democracy.
He said he chose the topic based on the discussion of democratic erosion globally that ramped up following the Great Recession, “as we saw various democracies engage in what we call backsliding or erosion around the world.” Access to information also plays a role in this issue. “When the ecosystem narrows or closes, then how do you have a free and fair election if you do not have free and fair access to information?” said Black. “How do you have or have the perception of an independent judiciary when you have lots of skewed information?”
The talk will conclude by considering the ways in which public education may return to its roots and fulfill its original purpose of reinforcing our democracy and the rule of law. Black will also meet with faculty, students, and staff during his visit to Carlisle to discuss matters of constitutional law.