On The Front Lines
John W. Whitehead To Present Jefferson-Madison Regional Library Lecture on 'The War on the Bill of Rights' on June 19
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- On June 19, 2007, at 7 p.m., John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute, will be the featured speaker for the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library's annual lecture series. In his speech, entitled "The War on The Bill of Rights," Whitehead will address the government's efforts to weaken the Bill of Rights and discuss what citizens can do to fight back and safeguard their constitutional freedoms. A 20-minute Q&A will follow the lecture. The event, which is open to the public and is sponsored by Friends of the Library, will take place at Central Library, located at 201 E. Market Street, Charlottesville.
Past speakers in the Bill of Rights Annual Lecture Series have included University of Virginia Law Professor Michael Klarman, who spoke on civil rights, Robert M. O'Neil, founding director of The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression, who spoke on free speech, and National Book Award winner Mary Lee Settle, who spoke on freedom of religion.
John W. Whitehead is a constitutional attorney and author who has written, debated and practiced widely in the areas of constitutional law and human rights. His concern for the persecuted and oppressed led him, in 1982, to establish The Rutherford Institute, a civil liberties organization headquartered in Charlottesville, that provides legal services without charge to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated.
Widely recognized as one of the nation's most vocal and involved constitutional attorneys, Whitehead's approach to civil liberties and human rights issues has earned him numerous accolades and accomplishments, including the Hungarian Medal of Freedom. Whitehead is an active member of the Constitution Project, which seeks to formulate bipartisan solutions to contemporary constitutional and legal issues by combining high-level scholarship and public education. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the American Freedom Agenda, which works to restore the Constitution's checks and balances and protections against government abuses.
Considered a legal, political and cultural watchdog--sounding the call for integrity, accountability and an adherence to the democratic principles on which this country was founded--John Whitehead has taken on everything from human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia to child pornography, cross burning and the war on terrorism.
