When Middle Tennessee resident Joni Bryan worked at a retirement community, she spoke with a resident there, a former constitutional lawyer who had been involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s and who had previously run for government office.

“He said ‘My dear, when’s the last time you read your Constitution?’” Bryan recalls.

That conversation helped inspire Bryan to not only read the text of the oft-debated and discussed document that set up the government of the United States of America, signed in 1787, but to also form the 917 Society, a group that encourages students and all Americans to study and know the governing document of their nation.

As Bryan began this effort and spoke with more and more people about the U.S. Constitution, she came to the realization that, or so it seemed to her, “99 percent of people have never read it.”

The 917 Society held a celebration of the Constitution on Sept 17, or 9/17, the anniversary of its signing, and the group works throughout the year to distribute copies of the Constitution, particularly to eighth-grade students in Tennessee.

Bryan references a U.S. law, part of the 2004 Omnibus Act, that requires all schools that receive federal funds to hold a program on or around Sept. 17 for Constitution Day, and requires federal agencies to provide educational materials concerning the U.S. Constitution to each employee on Sept. 17 of each year.

“However, the law offers no funding and teachers are left to their own resources to come up with a program,” Bryan shares with the Murfreesboro Pulse. “The 917 Society’s mission is to provide a free resource for eighth-grade students and teachers, as this is the year civics is supposed to be taught in depth in the curriculum.”

Bryan says that preserving Constitutional freedoms for many more years to come requires educating the next generation of American voters on what the Constitution says.

“Our founders wanted to make sure the government doesn’t become too powerful. We need to be careful of having a government that is too powerful. The Constitution was created to make sure the people have the power, not the government,” Bryan says. “The people need to have a say-so.”

She also wants to see voter participation increase.

“Participation is vital,” Bryan continues. “We must, as citizens, take our rights seriously, and protect those rights. We have a responsibility to be informed . . . when you don’t realize what you have in front of you, you take it for granted.”

Bryan says that getting people familiar with the Constitution is her only agenda.

“We present the Constitution as written, not a political interpretation of it,” she says, pleased that some of these introductions to the document have sparked some interesting discussions and debates in Tennessee middle schools regarding voting rights, prayer in schools, gun rights and other Constitutional subjects.

This year, the 917 Society helped reach over 90,000 students across the state of Tennessee in time to honor Constitution Day, and plans to begin a push to distribute durable, pocket-sized Constitutions to other states soon.

MTSU also celebrated Constitution Day this year with campus-wide Constitution readings conducted hourly at various buildings on campus.

Voter registration tables were set up across the MTSU campus all day to help citizens prepare for the upcoming 2020 elections.

MTSU’s Constitution Day celebration also included a panel discussion about women’s right to vote, as well as some modern challenges to accessing the ballot box.

The U.S. Congress passed the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which gave women the right to vote, in 1919. Tennessee’s General Assembly narrowly ratified the 19th Amendment in 1920, making Tennessee the 36th of 48 states to sanction women’s suffrage. The decision delivered the necessary three-fourths majority to amend the U.S. Constitution.

State Rep. London Lamar, a Democrat from Memphis, participated in the MTSU panel discussion. Lamar became Tennessee’s youngest legislator in January 2019 when she was sworn into office for her first term at age 28.

She’s passionate about getting younger generations involved in the political process by regularly casting their votes.

“I think it’s important to draw young people into the conversation because now we are the largest demographic of eligible voters in this country,” Lamar said.

Among those participating in the Constitution readings was Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett.

“My short-term goal is for every member of this community, whether it be students, faculty or administrators, to be registered to vote and to be engaged in this process because I believe every vote matters,” Hargett said.

Other Constitution Week activities in Murfreesboro included a Constitution trivia night at Linebaugh Library, presented by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Bryan reminds all who will listen about their responsibility to be involved in their government, and that the rights protected in the Constitution apply to all Americans.

“The Constitution is for all of us,” Bryan says.

___

September 2019 marked the 232nd anniversary of the signing of the Constitution of the United States of America.

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America,” the Preamble states. The document follows that by outlining the structure of the three branches of our representative government.

American colonists fought, sacrificed and died to establish and preserve the freedoms now guaranteed to us by the Constitution of the United States.

Congress ratified the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, known as The Bill of Rights, in 1791, four years after the signing of the original Constitution.

To commemorate Constitution Week and to encourage the study of the document, the Daughters of the American Revolution provided some Constitution Facts and thoughts to consider:

– You might have heard the phrase “that’s unconstitutional” or “that’s my constitutional right!” Many times Americans believe that some sayings and phrases are in our Constitution, but they really aren’t. Let us celebrate the Constitution by resolving to be better informed and responsible citizens. Read the Constitution!

– Did you know that nowhere in the Constitution does it say “it’s a free country”? Amendment 1 of the Constitution does not include the words “freedom of expression.” Over time courts have ruled to include limits to the freedoms of speech, press and assembly for defamation, perjury, contempt of court, hate speech, size of public demonstrations, trade secrets, noise pollution, classified information and treason. Study the Constitution, know your rights and know what it says and does not say.

– Our Constitution, the cornerstone of our freedoms, was written to protect every American from the abuse of power by government. The 5th Amendment states that “No person shall be . . . deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law” and it protects us from double jeopardy and self-incrimination. However, the phrases “innocent until proven guilty” and “presumption of innocence” are not found in the 5th amendment nor in any part of the Constitution. These phrases are derived from English law and are part of our system and considered common law today.

– The U.S. Constitution, the basic document of our republic, which protects the individual liberties of all citizens, is the oldest constitution still in active use in the world today and is through written law.

– “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal” and “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” are not in the Constitution, but both are in the Declaration of Independence. “Of the people, by the people, for the people” is neither in the Constitution nor the Declaration, but comes from the Gettysburg Address

– The only place in the Constitution that “Lord” or any reference to God appears is where the date is written: Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and eighty seven.

– You cannot be denied the right to vote because of race or gender. But remember, the Constitution never clearly ensures us the “right to vote.” The 26th Amendment requires that 18-year-olds must be able to vote; however, states can allow persons younger than 18 to vote if they chose. The qualifications for voters are left to the states, as long as they do not conflict with anything in the Constitution.

– The right to privacy has come to the public’s attention through various controversial Supreme Court rulings. Privacy is not specifically mentioned in the Constitution, but over the years the Supreme Court has made decisions that have established that the right to privacy is a basic human right and as such is protected by virtue of the 9th Amendment.

– Inauguration Day is set in the 20th Amendment. The Presidential and Vice Presidential terms end and the next term begins on Jan. 20 following an election. For Senators and Representatives, it ends and begins on Jan. 3 following an election. The time between the election and Inauguration Day is known as the lame-duck period, particularly if the president was not reelected.

– The Constitution does not give the right to have cases heard by a jury of “my,” “their” or anyone’s peers. The 6th Amendment does assure those accused of crimes “the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury.”

– The Constitution does not have the words “separation of church and state” anywhere in it.

– The only crime that is defined in the Constitution is treason. Specifically, it is adhering to or giving comfort to the enemies of the United States.

– The Constitution neither prohibits nor encourages that the president and the vice president be from the same party.

– (editor’s addendum) The Constitution does contain the phrases “probable cause” and “due process,” and states that someone suspected of a crime shall not be compelled to “witness against himself.” As convoluted and criticized as the American criminal justice system can be, most can avoid interaction with it if they do not voluntarily provide probable cause that they have committed a crime, or choose to bear witness against themselves. If you are being accused of a crime, that is generally not the best time to exercise your “freedom of speech.” You have the Constitutional right to keep your mouth shut!

___

Read the full U.S. Constitution and its amendments at constitutionus.com.