FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Merissa Blum, 215-409-6645 [email protected]
NATIONAL CONSTITUTION CENTER CELEBRATES AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH
TD Bank underwrites FREE admission to the Center on Presidents Day, Monday, February 18
Philadelphia, PA (January 23, 2019) – Throughout February, the National Constitution Center will host a variety of programs in honor of African American History Month. Visitors can learn about the history of the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation, the background of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, and key figures from the Civil Rights Movement. In the museum’s main exhibit, The Story of We the People, visitors can discover key milestones in African-American history, and then test their knowledge at the Center’s giant game board activity in the main lobby.
TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®, sponsors African American History Month at the National Constitution Center and underwrites free admission to the Center on Presidents Day, Monday, February 18. Featured programs on Presidents Day include a Meet the Presidents Kids Town Hall, a Presidential Costume Contest, and more. This year marks the sixth consecutive year of TD Bank’s sponsorship.
African American History Month Programs
PLEASE NOTE: On Sunday, February 17, the museum’s hours will be extended, 9:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., in celebration of Presidents Day Weekend.
Special Events
Presidents Day Weekend and FREE Family Day
Saturday, February 16, through Monday, February 18
Visitors can participate in a family festival while observing both African American History Month and Presidents Day. Visitors will learn about the contributions of African Americans throughout history and the role of the president and what it takes to be commander in chief during the National Constitution Center’s Presidents Day Weekend celebration. Throughout the weekend, the Center will host a variety of entertaining, educational programs for the whole family, including presidential trivia where visitors can test their knowledge of America’s 45 presidents, craft stations, story corners, and more. Admission to the Center will be free on Presidents Day, Monday, February 18, courtesy of TD Bank.
Daily Programs
Program times will vary daily. Please check the visitor guide upon arrival for that day’s show times.
Breaking Barriers Show
DeVos Hall
The interactive Breaking Barriers show examines the lives of Thurgood Marshall, Bessie Coleman, Jackie Robinson, and other groundbreaking African Americans throughout American history—providing insight into the struggles they faced and the rights they secured for all citizens. Their inspiring stories reveal how one individual’s civic actions can impact a nation.
Decoding the Document: Emancipation Proclamation Exhibit Station
DeVos Hall
Visitors can join the Center’s education staff to take a closer look at a rare copy of the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by Abraham Lincoln in June 1864. Forty-eight similar copies were sold at the Philadelphia Great Central Sanitary Fair to raise funds for sick and wounded Union soldiers. Of those 48 signed by Lincoln, only 24 are known to survive. A preview video of the Center’s exhibits team discussing the artifact is available online and a digital copy of the document is available for download.
African-American History Self-Guided Tour
DeVos Hall
Visitors can pick up a flier at the Information Desk to take a self-guided museum tour highlighting important moments in African-American history. Featuring:
- One-of-a-kind artifacts that give a glimpse into the daily lives of free African Americans in the 1700s who once called the museum’s block home.
- The American National Tree, featuring influential African Americans including Paul Robeson, Fannie Lou Hamer, Hiram Rhodes Revels, and more.
- A rare printing of the Emancipation Proclamation, signed by Abraham Lincoln.
- WWI artifacts, including a recruitment poster which was used to inspire African Americans to enlist in the U.S. military.
- Artifacts from the landmark Supreme Court cases, including Dred Scott v. Sandford and Loving v. Virginia.
- A button from the March on Washington.
- A copy of President Obama’s 2008 “A More Perfect Union” Speech.
Giant Game Board Activity
Main Lobby
As part of the Center’s interactive daily programming in February, visitors can test their knowledge of African-American history.
Online Resources
Interactive Constitution
After the Civil War, a series of transformational amendments, collectively known as the Reconstruction Amendments, were ratified. The National Constitution Center’s Interactive Constitution explores these provisions (the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution) with in-depth essays written by top scholars from across the political spectrum.
Educational Videos
The National Constitution Center’s award-winning Constitution Hall Pass video lesson series explores the post-Civil War era and two of the pivotal Reconstruction Amendments. View full length episodes on the 13th and 14th Amendments, as well as short videos featuring top 14th Amendment scholars Eric Foner and Tomiko Brown-Nagin and National Constitution Center President and CEO Jeffrey Rosen.
Through March 31, 2019, visitors can enjoy discounted admission with the National Constitution Center’s Winter Warm Up sale. Admission prices will be discounted to $10 for adults (usually $14.50) and $7.50 for youth ages 6-18 (usually $11). This promotion is valid online only; tickets must be purchased in advance.
Admission during African American History Month includes access to the National Constitution Center’s interactive main exhibit, The Story of We the People; the signature multimedia, theatrical performance of Freedom Rising presented in the Sidney Kimmel Theater; and the iconic Signers’ Hall, featuring 42 life-size, bronze statues of the Founding Fathers.
Visitors also have access to the Center’s feature exhibits, including American Treasures: Documenting the Nation’s Founding, an intimate look at the rarest early drafts of the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights; Constituting Liberty: From the Declaration to the Bill of Rights, highlighting the three most important documents in American history; and the Center’s Hamilton: The Constitutional Clashes That Shaped a Nation exhibit, which highlights the competing ideas of Alexander Hamilton and his legendary rivals.
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About the National Constitution Center
The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia inspires citizenship as the only place where people across America and around the world can come together to learn about, debate, and celebrate the greatest vision of human freedom in history, the U.S. Constitution. A private, nonprofit organization, the Center serves as America’s leading platform for constitutional education and debate, fulfilling its Congressional charter “to disseminate information about the U.S. Constitution on a nonpartisan basis.” As the Museum of We the People, the Center brings the Constitution to life for visitors of all ages through interactive programs and exhibits. As America’s Town Hall, the Center brings the leading conservative and liberal thought leaders together to debate the Constitution on all media platforms. As a center for Civic Education, the Center delivers the best educational programs and online resources that inspire, excite, and engage citizens about the U.S. Constitution. For more information, call 215-409-6700 or visit constitutioncenter.org.
About TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®
TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank® is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., with over 27,000 employees and deep roots in the community dating back more than 150 years. The Bank offers a broad array of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services to more than 9 million customers through its extensive network of approximately 1,250 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida.
In addition to banking products, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private banking and wealth management services through TD Wealth® and vehicle financing and dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance.
TD Bank is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol “TD”. For more information visit www.td.com.
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About the National Constitution Center
The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia brings together people of all ages and perspectives, across America and around the world, to learn about, debate, and celebrate the greatest vision of human freedom in history, the U.S. Constitution. A private, nonprofit organization, the Center serves as America’s leading platform for constitutional education and debate, fulfilling its congressional charter “to disseminate information about the U.S. Constitution on a nonpartisan basis.” As the Museum of We the People, the Center brings the Constitution to life for visitors of all ages through interactive programs and exhibits. As America’s Town Hall, the Center brings the leading conservative and liberal thought leaders together to debate the Constitution on all media platforms. As a Headquarters for Civic Education, the Center delivers the best educational programs and online resources that inspire citizens and engage all Americans in learning about the U.S. Constitution. For more information, call 215-409-6700 or visit constitutioncenter.org.
