In the midst of extreme racism, poverty, and political turmoil, North Carolina created one of the best statements of the constitutional right to education in the country. A product of the courageous leadership of black freemen and freedmen and northern and native whites during Reconstruction, the 1868 North Carolina Constitution continues to guide our public schools and universities. Professor Ann McColl uses tales of the birth of the NC Constitution to provide participants with a better understanding of the role of state constitutions in defining important rights.