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HCC hosts Constitution Day
2010
WELDON, N.C. -
Halifax Community College (HCC) hosted its sixth annual
Constitution & Citizenship Day, Sept. 10. The event took
place in the 100 Building. Federal law requires that any
agency receiving federal funds acknowledge Constitution Day.
HCC History Instructor and Department
Chair Shaun Stokes coordinated the event. “Constitution Day
fosters patriotism and citizenship within the students, as
well as the faculty and others who attend the program,”
explained Stokes. This Constitution Day focused on the 19th
Amendment, which was ratified in 1920.
HCC Communications Instructor Sharon Askew
gave the keynote address.
“As we observe this monumental event,
be reminded that we are celebrating 90 years of the passage
of the 19th Amendment. This is the amendment that
gave women here in America the right to vote,” said Askew.
“When the Constitution was written,
ratified and signed in 1789, the America that we know today
was not the America then. It was different racially,
politically, religiously as well as socially,” she added.
Askew noted that several leading figures
of the anti-slavery movement questioned the status of women
in what was supposed to be a democratic society. She
highlighted the accomplishments of Elizabeth Cady Stanton,
Lucretia Mott, Susan B. Anthony, Isabella Hooker, Mary Ann
M’Clintock and Sojourner Truth, and ended her address by
reading Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech.
Dean of Curriculum Programs, Dr.
Harriet Morrison added, “The Constitution is one of the
documents on which this country was built.” She briefly
talked about the 19th Amendment, adding, “Where
it not for that amendment, no woman in this country would be
voting today.”
Morrison encouraged everyone to
educate themselves on the Constitution and the women’s
suffrage movement and to learn about their rights as a U.S.
citizen.
The Amazing Voices of HCC provided
entertainment during the event.
Sharon Askew
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