On Sept. 29, Ohio University will host the Constitution Day Freedom Sings! Campus Concert at 7 p.m. in Baker Theater.
The concert will follow the annual CLJC Constitution Day Lecture by speaker Dr. Renee Heberle. The lecture will occur on the same day at 5:00 p.m. in Scripps 111.
Both events are free and open to any members of the public.
The Constitution Day concert, which is a program of the First Amendment Center in Washington, D.C., is an interactive one, educating about First Amendment freedoms via song.
“I’ve seen this concert three times, and each time it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up as I am reminded of the amazing, wonderful power contained in the words of the First Amendment,” says Nerissa Young, faculty advisor to the Ohio Chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists.
The concert is produced and narrated by Ken Paulson, former director of the First Amendment Center, former editor of USA Today, and current Dean of the School of Journalism at Middle Tennessee State University.
Joining Paulson will be four Grammy Award-winning singers and songwriters in the band:
- Joseph Wooten of the Steve Miller Band
- Dez Dickerson of Prince and the Revolution
- Larry White with four top ten country hits
- Bill Loyd, three top ten country hits as a member for Foster and Lloyd
They are set to perform songs that were censored or banned from the early 20th century to today, including hip hop and rap.
“This is the music your momma and the government didn’t want you to hear,” Young said. “They tried to censor it, or they tried to ban it. But the ideas of natural rights and freedom of expression could not be stifled.”
Freedom Sings! is sponsored by the OHIO Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and co-sponsored by the Center for Law, Justice & Culture, the Office of the Vice President and Provost, and other units on campus.
See more on the OHIO Society for Professional Journalists’ Twitter page
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