"Women's Rights: Fast Forward For Fifty Years"

LINCOLN - Judge Smith Camp's overview of the changes in the legal status and roles of women in Nebraska is the inaugural presentation in a series of public programs on civil rights and civil liberties in Nebraska organized by the Nebraska State Historical Society (NSHS). The judge's legal career itself exemplifies the changing roles of women in the state; before her appointment to the bench, Judge Camp was Chief, Civil Rights Section, Nebraska Department of Justice, 1991-1995 and chief deputy attorney general for criminal matters, Nebraska Department of Justice, 1995-2001.

"Civil Rights and Civil Liberties in Nebraska: Understanding the Past, Looking to the Future," will include lectures, community conversations, a special issue of Nebraska History magazine, an exhibition, and opportunities for citizens to record their stories and reflections now through 2011.

For over 200 years America has struggled to determine who is included in the "We" of "We the People," and to whom constitutional rights and liberties apply. The NSHS invites the public to join in an exploration of Nebraska's role in figuring out who "We" are in our state and in the nation. The series will investigate the changing course of constitutional rights and privileges over our national history and in particular how the struggle for inclusion has played out in Nebraska.

Landmark legal cases, social protests, changing laws and changing attitudes will provide a backdrop for exploration of how Nebraskans will define "we the people" in our future. 

The event begins at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, October 19, 2010 in the Nebraska History Museum.