The community is invited to a talk in observance of Constitution Day, hosted by Missouri S&T’s history and political science department. The event will begin at noon Monday, Sept. 18, in St. Pat’s Ballroom C in the Havener Center.

Dr. Larry Gragg, university historian and Curators’ Distinguished Teaching Professor emeritus of history and political science at Missouri S&T, will give a talk on the difficulty of desegregating higher education prior to the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision.

“This talk will go into the ‘behind the scenes’ discussions of university presidents before and after the declaratory judgment which required the Missouri School of Mines to admit three African American students in 1950,” says Gragg. “I’ve drawn upon letters and memos to and from five state college presidents, as well as the presidents at the University of Missouri and Lincoln University. Their timid response reflects the depth of segregation in the state at that time.”

Congress designated Sept. 17 as Constitution Day to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787.

For more information about Missouri S&T’s Constitution Day activities, contact Dr. Michael Meagher, associate professor of history and political science at Missouri S&T, at mmeagher@mst.edu or call 573-341-4342.

About Missouri University of Science and Technology

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of over 7,000 students. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System and located in Rolla, Missouri, Missouri S&T offers 101 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top 10 universities for return on investment, according to Business Insider. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.