Centenary to observe Constitution Day with presentation on race and voting rights
SHREVEPORT, LA — Dr. Sharron Herron-Williams, Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities scholar in residence and professor of political science at Southern University Shreveport, will deliver Centenary’s 2022 Constitution Day convocation address on Tuesday, September 20, at 11:15 a.m. in the Whited Room. The event is free and open to the public. A Q&A will follow Herron-Williams’s presentation.
Constitution Day commemorates the signing of the United States Constitution in September 1787 and is celebrated across the country with local events focused on constitutional history and citizenship. In her presentation, Herron-Williams will examine the intersection of race and voting rights in American history with a focus on key legislation such as the 15th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
Herron-Williams currently serves as the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities (LEH) scholar in residence for the Who Gets to Vote? Initiative, and president for the Southern Conference on African American Studies, Inc. (SCAASI). She has received the Kwame Nkrumah and Fannie Lou Hamer Award for Administrative Leadership and Service from the National Council on Black Studies, NISOD Excellence Award, Drum Major for Justice Recognition, and Rosa Parks Award for Public Service from California State University at Fresno, among other recognitions and awards.
She is a graduate of Stillman College, a private HBCU in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and pursued graduate studies at Mississippi State University where she received a master of public policy and administration (MPPA) and the doctor of philosophy in public administration. She is the first person to receive a Ph.D. in public administration from Mississippi State University.
“Centenary is excited to host Dr Herron-Williams for a conversation about how the Constitution and laws of the United States have evolved over time to grant citizenship and voting rights to more Americans than were originally included--Black Americans in particular,” said Dr. Amy Friesenhahn, assistant professor of political science. “We can reflect on the importance of the Constitution as our founding document and learn about the struggle for voting rights for Black Americans between the 15th Amendment and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.”