The Gephardt Institute for Public Service will commemorate Constitution Day with a panel discussion titled “Did the Japanese American Internment Violate Constitutional Rights … and Why Do We Care?” at 7 p.m. Sept. 17 in the Danforth University Center, Room 242.
The discussion, part of the “Ethnic Profiling: A Challenge to Democracy” series of the Center for the Study of Ethics and Human Values, ties in with the Freshman Reading Program’s exploration of Julie Otsuka’s novel, “When the Emperor was Divine.”
Panelists include John Haley, J.D., the William R. Orthwein Distinguished Professor of Law; Denise Lieberman, J.D., lecturer in political science in Arts & Sciences; and Wendy Roll, president of the St. Louis chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League. Randall Calvert, Ph.D., the Thomas F. Eagleton University Professor, will serve as moderator.
“It has been personally rewarding for me to work on this event,” said Robin Hattori, program director for the Gephardt Institute. “Both of my parents were among the Japanese Americans interned during World War II in Rohwer, Ark., and the debate around ethnic profiling and constitutional rights remains relevant today.”
Constitution Day is a day of observance that recognizes the ratification of the U.S. Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens. It is observed on Sept. 17, the day the Constitutional Convention signed the document in 1787.
A reception in Danforth University Center Formal Lounge will follow the discussion. For more information, contact the Gephardt Institute at 935-9104.