Illinois State University is set to celebrate Constitution Day with “Envisioning Justice: Mass Incarceration and the Constitution,” an event that will be held on September 14, 2023, from 3:30-5 p.m. in the Old Main Room inside the Bone Student Center. This multi-faceted event is part of the Leadership for Liberation Pop-Up Library series and will ask participants to consider the juxtaposition of mass incarceration in the United States with the values and vision stated in the U.S. Constitution.
Constitution Day is celebrated every year on September 17 to commemorate the September 17, 1787 signing of the United States Constitution. The day was originally proposed by the Daughters of the American Revolution with the purpose of informing people about the Constitution of America’s heritage, encouraging the study of historical events that led to the framing of the Constitution, and emphasizing citizen responsibility to protect and defend the Constitution. In 1956, President Eisenhower signed into law Constitution Week, which runs from September 17–23, to commemorate the ratification of the Constitution.
When the very document designed to safeguard citizens’ rights accommodates a system marked by systemic injustices that disproportionately confines its population, it becomes significant to analyze the discourse surrounding the Constitution and examine how to pave the way toward a more equitable and humane criminal justice system.
Tyreece Williams from Envisioning Justice understands the significance of the issue, as the event’s featured speaker. “I want to emphasize the importance of introducing nontraditional models of civic engagement that include individuals and communities that are often left out of conversations meant to address the social, political, and economic issues shaping the world around us,” he said. His presentation will examine the impacts of mass incarceration in Illinois and emphasize how the arts and humanities are essential tools for envisioning and building a more just society.
“Mass incarceration has made it so that both formerly and currently incarcerated individuals are disconnected from community and from opportunities to have their voices heard.”
Tyreece Williams
Williams is the program manager for the Envisioning Justice initiative at Illinois Humanities, which leverages the arts and humanities to envision alternatives to the enduring injustice of mass incarceration. In this role, he oversees the program’s grantmaking portfolio and develops free, high-quality humanities experiences throughout Illinois designed to enrich individual and community-based visions of justice.
The Wonsook Kim School of Art will also be hosting Williams on the same day from 12-1 p.m. on the 6th floor of Milner Library SW. Williams will present art made by people affected by the justice system, and/or art in response to incarceration. The entire campus community is welcome to attend.
“Mass incarceration has made it so that both formerly and currently incarcerated individuals are disconnected from community and from opportunities to have their voices heard,” Williams said. For the Constitution Day event, he hopes that attendees walk away with examples of how questions and perspectives from the people most directly impacted by the issue can be amplified and “encourage conversation, ideation, and collaboration that gets us closer to impactful systemic and cultural change.”
The event will also feature a table display from Project XV, Illinois’ first voting rights museum, a pop-up library featuring books and articles in Milner Library about mass incarceration, in addition to an exhibition of the U.S. Constitution. As an educational institution that receives federal funding, Illinois State University is required to hold an educational program about the U.S. Constitution for its students.
No registration is required to participate in this event. Free snacks will be available. This event is sponsored by the Center for Civic Engagement, the Leadership Education and Development Unit of the Dean of Students Office, and Milner Library.
When: September 14, 2023
Where: Old Main Room, Bone Student Center
Cost: Free
Registration: Not required
More information: Redbird Life
