The Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies is pleased to announce that the tenth annual Tom E. Moses Memorial Lecture on the U.S. Constitution will be given by Clay Risen, author of The Bill of the Century: The Epic Battle for the Civil Rights Act. Risen is an editor for the New York Times op-ed section and a former assistant editor at the New Republic. His work has appeared in The Atlantic, Smithsonian and the Washington Post, and his first book, A Nation on Fire: America in the Wake of the King Assassination, received wide praise.

The Moses Memorial Lecture is named for the late Tom E. Moses, a longtime civil libertarian, activist, and founder of the Eastern Panhandle branch of the ACLU-WV. The lecture will be given on Wednesday, Sept. 17, at 7 p.m. in the Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies’ Auditorium on the campus of Shepherd University. Admission is free and open to the public, but due to limited space advance tickets will be required.

Fifty years after its enactment, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 stands as one of the most impactful pieces of legislation in American history. Risen will set the passage of the Civil Rights Act in historical context and discuss how its careful shepherding through Congress, over prolonged opposition, provides lessons for gaining significant legislative achievements in a politically divided environment.

Persons interested in acquiring tickets should call Mr. Jody Brumage at (304) 876-5702 or email him at jbrumage@shepherd.edu. Tickets will also be available at the Byrd Center located at 213 N. King St., Shepherd University, Shepherdstown. Any remaining tickets will be available at the door on a first-come-first-served basis on the night of the lecture.

The Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies is a private, nonpartisan, and nonprofit educational organization located on the campus of Shepherd University. The mission of the Center is to promote a better understanding of the United States Congress, both historically and in a contemporary setting. The Center’s research and programs focus on the history of Congress and the Constitution, civic education, and the meaning of representative democracy.