The sixth annual “Berks County Bar Association Lecture in Contemporary Legal Issues” at Albright College will feature Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice at the NYU School of Law, on the topic of “The New Birth of Freedom: the 14th and 15th Amendments and Today’s Fight for Voting Rights.” Sponsored by the Berks Bar Association, the free lecture will be open to the public on Tues., Oct 2, at 7:30 p.m., in Albright College’s Wachovia Theater.
A constitutional lawyer and writer, Michael Waldman was responsible for writing or editing nearly 2,000 speeches, including four State of the Union and two Inaugural addresses as director of speechwriting for President Bill Clinton. Today, he serves as president of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, a nonpartisan law and policy institute that focuses on improving the systems of democracy and justice. The Brennan Center is a national voice on voting rights, money in politics, criminal justice reform and constitutional law.
The 14th and 15th Amendments to the Constitution promised a “new birth of freedom” and transformed the nation’s sense of itself. But it took a century of struggle to live up to their ideals. Now those key Amendments are under challenge again, on issues ranging from voting rights to citizenship. The struggle for democracy, freedom and “equal protection of the law” are once again at the center of American law and politics. Constitutional scholar and advocate Michael Waldman will draw on his career of passionate advocacy to tell the story of the long struggle to uphold America’s best ideals — a story more relevant than ever.
