Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2025
Time: 7:30 pm (EDT) - 9:00 pm (EDT)
HA is pleased to be a Foundational Friend of the Maryland Council for Social Studies and are partnering with them to present programs focusing on the United States Constitution. The first program is on Constitution Day, Wednesday, September 17th at 7:30 pm. Joey Landgraf, President of MDCSS will share the educational role and goals of the organization and to introduce our speaker, Professor Gilda Daniels.
Whether you are a student, educator, legal professional, or engaged community member, this program invites you to reflect on the Constitution’s legacy and to confront the challenges that remain in fulfilling its guarantees for all.
Join Gilda Daniels, Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law, and voting rights expert, for an engaging Constitution Day program that explores the enduring promises and persistent challenges of America’s founding document through the lens of a “living Constitution” This thought-provoking event will examine how the Constitution’s vision for liberty, equality, and justice has been interpreted, expanded, and sometimes constrained over time.
Through historical reflection and contemporary analysis, we will consider how the Constitution is not a static relic, but a dynamic framework-shaped by amendments, judicial interpretation, and the ongoing efforts of citizens to make its ideals real. We will explore:
- The foundational principals embedded in the Constitution
- How the living Constitution framework influences debates over rights and governance
- Landmark Supreme Court decisions that have redefined constitutional protections
- The challenges of applying 18th century language to 21st century issues
- The role of civic engagement in fulfilling the Constitution’s promises
The Historic Annapolis 2025 Virtual Lecture Series is offered free of charge thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor. If you enjoy this program, we hope you will consider becoming a member or making a donation today to support Historic Annapolis and our mission to connect all people with our shared history.
Cost: FREE
Presenter Bio:
Gilda R. Daniels is a Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law and a voting rights expert. She
is a former Deputy Chief in the Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Voting Section. She also served as Litigation Director at Advancement Project National Office, supporting the justice, education, immigrants’ rights, and voting projects and a staff attorney at the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights under the Law. Professor Daniels is currently a Consultant at the Campaign Legal Center. She is Nationally recognized voting rights and election law expert.
She has investigated, negotiated, and litigated cases involving the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the National Voter Registration Act and other voting statutes. Professor Daniels teaches Election Law, Appellate Advocacy Federal Courts, Civil Procedure, and Critical Legal Theory, which includes jurisprudence, critical race theory, socioeconomics, and access to justice.
Professor Daniels is the author of Uncounted: The Crisis of Voter Suppression in America. Ms. Magazine called Uncounted “required reading”. She has prepared amicus briefs filed in the U.S. Supreme Court on various civil rights and constitutional issues, and is well published. Her scholarship focuses on the intersections of race, law, and democracy. Some of the articles have appeared in California Law Review, Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Review; Yale Law Journal Forum, George Washington Law Review, and New York University of Legislation and Public Policy. Other media outlets include the Washington Post and NPR’s All Things Considered.
Professor Daniels is a consultant and contributor to various conferences and panels. She lectures at universities and organizations ranging from National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, The American Constitution Society to local churches. Earlier in her career she was a staff attorney with the Southern Center for Human Rights, representing death row inmates as well as bringing prison condition cases in Georgia and Alabama. She is a graduate of New York University of Law where she was a Root Tilden Scholar, and Grambling State University.
Historic Annapolis is honored to have Gilda Daniels as a member of the Board of Trustees.
Joey Landgraf is the President-Elect for Maryland Council for Social Studies. This school year, he is embarking on a new adventure as he will be a social sciences teacher at Aberdeen High School in Harford County Public Schools. Previously, Joey taught AP Government and AP Psychology at North County High School in Anne Arundel County Public Schools. Joey is a 2015 James Madison Fellow from Maryland and also won Promising New Social Studies Teacher of the Year from MDCSS in 2019. He has previously served on the board of MDCSS as an At-Large Member. In his free time, he enjoys fantasy football, pub trivia, golf, hiking, and wrangling his toddler daughter.
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