# Event Details - **Event Name**: "I, Too, Sing America: The Black Affirmation of American Independence" - **Event Start and End Date**: Tue, 15 Sep, 2026 at 06:00 pm – Tue, 15 Sep, 2026 at 07:30 pm (-04:00) - **Event Description**: The Center for American Civic Leadership and Public Discourse is pleased to present 2026 Constitution Day featuring Professor Lucas Morel.About this Event"I, Too, Sing America”: The Black Affirmation of American IndependenceThe Center for American Civic Leadership and Public Discourse is pleased to present “I, Too, Sing America: The Black Affirmation of American Independence", a special event in recognition of 2026 Constitution Day featuring Professor Lucas Morel from Washington & Lee University.This event will explore how the principles of the American founding have been understood, interpreted, and affirmed within the African American intellectual and political tradition with a focus on the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the civil rights movement. This event will deepen students’ understanding of the enduring significance of America’s founding ideals and will encourage them to engage thoughtfully with how core constitutional principles, such as equality, liberty, and natural rights, have evolved over time. The lecture is part of the Center’s yearlong speaker series, “America 250 and Its Promises: The American Founding and the Abiding Pursuit of its Ideals,” which commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence by examining the enduring principles of the American founding and their relevance today.The event will be the campus’s flagship Constitution Day event and will consist of a 60-minute lecture by Professor Morel followed by a 30-minute moderated question-and-answer session. To enhance the educational impact of the event and promote civic literacy and engagement, attendees will receive free copies of the Center’s pocket Constitution, which contains the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the other constitutional amendments, Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.This event is sponsored by The Center for American Civic Leadership and Public Discourse, the Department of Political Science, the McCausland College of Arts and Sciences, the Joseph F. Rice School of law and the Jack Miller Center.Doors will open at 5:00 p.m. The program will begin promptly at 6 p.m. This event is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is suggested.About The Center for American Civic Leadership and Public DiscourseThe Center aspires to make the University of South Carolina a driver of renewed civic culture in the United States by fostering intellectual inquiry, reasoned discourse, and respect across differences in pursuit of the common good. Its overarching mission is to promote the dialogic, cultural, and civic literacy critical to a well-ordered and flourishing polity.About Professor Lucas MorelProfessor Morel is the John K. Boardman Jr. Professor and Head of the Politics Department at Washington and Lee University. He is a former president of the Abraham Lincoln Institute, founding member of the Academic Freedom Alliance, trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society, member of the Jack Miller Center Academic Council, and consultant on Library of Congress and National Archives exhibits on Lincoln and the Civil War. His books include Lincoln and the American Founding, Measuring the Man: The Writings of Frederick Douglass on Abraham Lincoln, and The New Territory: Ralph Ellison and the Twenty-First Century. Professor Morel currently serves on the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which is coordinating activities throughout 2026 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American founding. - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/columbia/i-too-sing-america-the-black-affirmation-of-american-independence/100001988435763897 - **Event Categories**: science-fair - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 - **Event Highlights**: - Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes - Location: University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law; Karen J. Williams Courtroom - Languages: English ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 0, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: Columbia - **state**: SC - **country**: United States - **location**: University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law; Karen J. Williams Courtroom - **lat**: 34.0024558 - **long**: -81.0274159 - **full address**: University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law; Karen J. Williams Courtroom, 1525 Senate Street, Columbia, United States ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: "I, Too, Sing America: The Black Affirmation of American Independence" - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events5/banners/75b0f2f707a050d4484df5523c6933215df3d27d9351040f41fd1201265a98f3-rimg-w1200-h600-dcf8f8e8-gmir.jpg?v=1787877922 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is "I, Too, Sing America: The Black Affirmation of American Independence" being held? - **A:** "I, Too, Sing America: The Black Affirmation of American Independence" takes place on Tue, 15 Sep, 2026 at 06:00 pm to Tue, 15 Sep, 2026 at 07:30 pm at University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law; Karen J. Williams Courtroom, 1525 Senate Street, Columbia, United States. - **Q**: Who is organizing "I, Too, Sing America: The Black Affirmation of American Independence"? - **A:** "I, Too, Sing America: The Black Affirmation of American Independence" is organized by USC, College of Arts and Sciences. ## Structured Data (JSON-LD) ```json [ { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@type": "Event", "name": ""I, Too, Sing America: The Black Affirmation of American Independence"", "image": "https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events5/banners/75b0f2f707a050d4484df5523c6933215df3d27d9351040f41fd1201265a98f3-rimg-w1200-h600-dcf8f8e8-gmir.jpg?v=1787877922", "startDate": "2026-09-15T18:00:00-04:00", "endDate": "2026-09-15T19:30:00-04:00", "url": "https://allevents.in/columbia/i-too-sing-america-the-black-affirmation-of-american-independence/100001988435763897", "eventStatus": "https://schema.org/EventScheduled", "location": { "@type": "Place", "name": "University of South Carolina Joseph F. 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