Goodwin

SHEPHERDSTOWN — For the past 20 years, Constitution Day has been celebrated in Shepherdstown, with a guest speaker presenting a Tom E. Moses Memorial Lecture in the Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History & Education.

Established by Moses’ children in 2005, the annual lecture series honors the legacy of their father, who was a longtime supporter of the U.S. Constitution. He dedicated much of his life to his work as a civil libertarian, activist and founder of the Eastern Panhandle branch of the ACLU-WV.

This year’s lecture will be presented by someone Moses would likely have been a big fan of — attorney and former U.S. Sen. Carte Goodwin (D-W.Va.), who was appointed to complete the last four months of Sen. Robert Byrd’s term, following Byrd’s death on June 28, 2010.

“Come join us for an engaging lecture by former United States Senator Carte P. Goodwin on Constitution Day,” Byrd Center Director Zach Dougherty said. “Dive into a powerful conversation about the United States Constitution and the role each of us plays in upholding our democracy.”

Goodwin currently works for the law firm of Frost Brown Todd, LLP, where he serves as partner-in-charge of the Charleston office, vice chair of the Appellate Practice Group and leader of the firm’s Industry Consultants and Advisors team. He previously served as the general counsel to former West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin and chaired the state’s Independent Commission on Judicial Reform. He now serves as a member of the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.

That lecture, which will be held on Constitution Day itself — 7 p.m. on Sept. 17 — will be followed by another event in Shepherdstown that weekend, with the first annual We, the People Parade at 10 a.m. on Sept. 20.

“The Constitution and the recognition of its birth is celebrated on Constitution Day. We hold the Constitution and democracy sacred to us,” Shepherdstown resident Mark Kohut said.

Kohut said the parade will start off at the top of German Street and continue down to its intersection with Princess Street. Anyone interested in celebrating democracy and the Constitution is welcome to participate. Those who plan to join the parade are encouraged to bring flags and signs with them and meet together a half hour prior to the start of the parade, at 9:30 a.m., on Church Street.

Following the parade, a reading of the Constitution will be held on the steps of McMurran Hall.

“We have plans to read the Constitution — we’ll probably have it broken up into six-minute segments by different speakers, to keep it interesting for listeners,” Kohut said, mentioning a Constitution-themed trivia event will be held in Shepherdstown later that night.

Town council member Marty Amerty Amerikaner vocally supported the growth in the town’s Constitution Day celebration.

“This year is a particularly good year for us to be talking more about the Constitution and to be honoring it — for obvious reasons,” Amerikaner said, referring to recent political actions on the national level. “I think there’s an awful lot of good that can come from people gathering together and saying it out loud, ‘We love the Constitution.'”

To learn more about the parade and new events being planned, email mark.kohut@gmail.com.

To reserve a free seat at the Tom E. Moses Memorial Lecture, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/constitution-day-lecture-by-senator-carte-p-goodwin-tickets-1587824077559?.