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California Leaders to Celebrate U.S. Constitution Day

Superintendent Gordon to Join Dignitaries in Live Reading

Superintendent holding printed copy of the U.S. Constitution

The Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools will join more than 100 people statewide in reading the U.S. Constitution to commemorate Constitution Day on at 10 a.m. on 9/17/20.

Thursday, September 17, 2020, is U.S. Constitution Day. To mark the occasion, people from around California—ranging from federal judges to local high school students—will gather virtually to read the Constitution aloud. More than 100 people will participate in the online reading, including students from Grant Union High School (Twin Rivers USD) and Sheldon THEATREworks at Sheldon High School (Elk Grove USD). Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools David W. Gordon will also be one of the readers. 

The U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California, will host the live YouTube video stream at 10 a.m. on Thursday to commemorate the anniversary of the Constitution’s original signing. The reading, expected to take roughly 90 minutes, also commemorates the anniversaries of the Fifteenth and Nineteenth Amendments, ratified 150 and 100 years ago, respectively.

Other local scheduled readers include:

  • Hon. Tani Cantil-Sakauye, Chief Justice of California
  • Hon. Kimberly J. Mueller, Chief District Judge, Eastern District of California
  • Hon. Russell Hom, Presiding Judge, Sacramento County Superior Court
  • McGregor Scott, U.S. Attorney, Eastern District of California
  • Heather Williams, Federal Defender, Eastern District of California
  • Hon. Gary K. Hart, California State Senator (Retired)
  • Kevin R. Johnson, Dean, UC Davis School of Law
  • Michael Hunter Schwartz, Dean, McGeorge School of Law
  • Ashutosh (Ash) Bhagwat, Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law
  • Hon. Stacy Boulware Eurie, Judge, Sacramento County Superior Court
  • Leslie Gielow Jacobs, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy Professor of Law, McGeorge School of Law
  • Brian Soucek, Professor, UC Davis School of Law
  • Jasmine Turner-Bond, President, The Wiley Manuel Bar Association of Sacramento
  • Liz Olsen, President, Women Lawyers of Sacramento

U.S. Constitution Day, also known as Citizenship Day, recognizes the adoption of the U.S. Constitution and honors those who are—and those who have become—citizens of the United States. It is observed on September 17, the day on which the Constitution was adopted in 1787. If the holiday falls on a weekend, it is normally observed by schools on the adjacent weekday.