National Park Partners welcomes Dr. Paul Finkelman as the closing speaker for the 2018 Moccasin Bend Lecture Series. Dr. Fineklman is the president of Gratz College near Philadelphia, Pa. and is a noted legal historian and U.S. Constitution scholar.
The lecture will be on Monday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center. Participants will examine implications of the addition of civil rights to the U.S. Constitution during the Reconstruction Era that followed the Civil War.
The Fall Lecture Series, sponsored by Greg A. Vital, is free and open to the public.
Doors open at 5 p.m. and guests are invited to come early and explore the Civil Rights Amendments exhibit, created by the National Park Service, at the Chattanooga African-American Museum adjacent to the lecture hall. Refreshments will be offered.
National Park Partners thanks the National Environmental Education Foundation for supporting the "Centennial and Beyond" grant program, designed to bring National Park Service programming to new and diverse audiences. This lecture and exhibit mark the completion of a two-year partnership with the Bessie Smith Cultural Center, during which hundreds of residents and visitors have experienced the Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park through programs hosted at BSCC.
Bessie Smith Cultural Center is at 200 E. M.L.King Blvd. in downtown Chattanooga. Ample free parking is available adjacent to the building and on surrounding streets.
Now entering its 13th year, the Moccasin Bend Lecture Series brings thought leaders and subject matter experts to share stories and experiences related to National Parks, conservation, history, American Indian culture, and more.
Established in 2006, the Moccasin Bend Lecture Series is sponsored each year by Greg A. Vital, longtime Board member of the Friends of Moccasin Bend and now National Park Partners.