D.C. Cecilia Marshall, widow of the late U.S. Supreme Court justice for whom the building is named, will be the special guest of honor at a reception and program beginning at 6 p.m. She will cut a ribbon marking the official opening of the exhibit. It will be at the Marshall Building through Feb. 26. WSU President Irvin D. Reid, the university's first African-American president, will be a guest speaker at the opening event. Fabricated for the Keith Collection by Exhibit Works Inc. of Detroit, the striking exhibit was first shown at a conference of African-American federal jurists in Detroit last September.
Plans are under way for a national tour.
In photographs, drawings and reproductions of documents, the exhibit covers such topics as slavery, black soldiers in the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation and ratification of the 14th Amendment in 1868. It also highlights subsequent historical developments, such as the Reconstruction Era and the role of Thurgood Marshall, Charles Houston and other African-American lawyers in making the 14th Amendment a reality. The philosophy of justice and equality for all is the founding principle of the nation. In practice, however, African Americans were long denied due process and equal protection under the law. How the legal status of African Americans and the practice of slavery fit into the democratic ideals of the U.S. Constitution remains a critical issue of historical as well as contemporary significance, notes Smith.