Morrow, Ga., Sept. 2, 2009 – Clayton State University and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Southeast Region are once again joining together to celebrate Constitution Week.
 
The Fifth Annual Constitution Week celebration will be officially held from Monday, Sept. 14 to Friday, Sept. 18. However, Clayton State and NARA are getting an early start with NARA’s traditional Constitution documents display in the University’s James M. Baker Center. Starting on Friday, Sept. 11 (which is also Patriot Day) and running through Sept. 18, Constitution document reproductions, on loan from NARA, are on display on the second floor of the Baker Center. Also on display in the adjoining Clayton State Library are 18th Century women’s clothing, Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist, and Women of the Revolutionary War displays.
 
Another Constitution Week-long event is the annual voter registration drive, which will also take place on the second floor the Baker Center. Flag pins will be given to all who register.
 
The keynote address for Constitution Week will be from noon to 1 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 14 in room 272 of the Baker Center. Clayton State is especially honored for 2009 to have long-time friend of the University James J. McSweeney, regional administrator of the National Archives Southeast Region, as the keynote speaker. Copies of the Constitution will be provided at McSweeney’s presentation.
 
On Tuesday, Sept. 15, Constitution Week will move outside for a “Constitutional Drama” performed on the L. Jerry Eskew Stage at the Judge Eugene Lawson Amphitheater from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Passages from the Constitution will be read by members of the audience and the meaning of the passages will be explained by student actors providing commentary drawn from historical sources. Discussion will follow and period and patriotic music will be performed by Clayton State University music students. Free copies of the Constitution will also be distributed at this event.
 
On Thursday, Sept. 17, NARA (5780 Jonesboro Rd., adjacent to the Clayton State campus) will host a naturalization ceremony, starting at 10 a.m. The ceremony will also be available via webcast. The color guard for the ceremony will be provided by the Clayton State University ROTC program with music by Lianna Wimberly Williams, mezzo-soprano, and Alexander Benford, piano.
 
On both Sept. 17 and Sept. 18, William Temple, artist, musician, poet and re-enactor, will demonstrate aspects of the life of a colonial soldier at the National Archives facility while in period costume. The demonstration begins at 11:30 a.m. on Thursday and at noon on Friday. In addition, Temple’s artwork will be displayed in on second floor of the Baker Center.
 
All of the Constitution Day events are free and are open to the public, although the event schedule is subject to change.
 
For more information, contact Dr. Mark May at markmay@clayton.edu.
 
A unit of the University System of Georgia, Clayton State University is an outstanding comprehensive metropolitan university located 15 miles southeast of downtown Atlanta.