Freethought Society marks Constitution Day at Lincoln University

LINCOLN UNIVERSITY » The Freethought Society will host a voter registration and information table at Lincoln University on Monday, Sept.17, 2018, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The table will be located in the International Cultural Center and will be staffed by Steve Hill who will portray Frederick Douglass, Marjorie Goldman who will portray Susan B. Anthony and Margaret Downey will portray a generic/unnamed abolitionist.

The 19th Century theme is intended to educate students about the difficulties endured by Douglass and Anthony as they struggled towards obtaining the right to vote. To honor the legacy of abolitionists and voting rights heroes, free literature and oneon-one conversations will convey the importance of registering to vote.

“I will be pleased to talk to students in the Frederick Douglass character to dramatically emphasize how important it is to remember and honor the difficulties related to the passage of the 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution,” Hill said.

Students will be offered voter registration information, forms, photo opportunities, free literature, and complimentary snacks.

It is fitting that the tabling project is being held during 2018 Constitution Day. The Constitution Day program is sponsored by the Lincoln University’s department of history, political science and philosophy.

Douglass was 35 years old when Lincoln University was founded in 1854 by John Miller Dickey and his wife Sarah Emlen Cresson. Originally named “Ashmun Institute,” it was later named Lincoln University after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln (1866). A Lincoln University building is named after Frederick Douglass. The Frederick Douglass Hall houses students on campus.

A late afternoon photo session will take place at the on-campus Frederick Douglass statue located on a walkway between Frederick Douglass, McRary and Ashmun residence halls just beyond the campus Quad and the Thurgood Marshall Living Learning Center.