OCPA, OCU Law to hold lecture on Magna Carta Day
Magna Carta Day is June 15, and the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs (OCPA) and the Oklahoma City University School of Law are co-hosting a lecture on the document outlining perhaps the most important declaration of individual rights ever recorded.
“Charting our Course: The Great Charter and American Liberty” by renowned speaker and historian J. Rufus Fears, Ph.D. will be held on June 15 at 6:00 p.m. in the Kerr-McGee Auditorium at the OCU Meinders School of Business.
“I always begin my course on the history of freedom in America with Magna Carta,” said Fears, professor of classics at the University of Oklahoma and the Dr. David and Ann Brown Distinguished Fellow at OCPA.
“We would never have had July 4, 1776 without June 15, 1215 when King John was forced near Windsor Castle at the field of Runnymede to sign the Magna Carta — the great declaration of freedoms for Englishmen and now for us as Americans,” Fears added.
"Magna Carta Day affords us the opportunity to celebrate the liberties at the foundation of our democracy,” said Oklahoma City University president Robert Henry. “I hope you will join us for this enlightening examination of the English document that immensely influenced the course of our nation¹s history. If you’ve never heard Dr. Fears speak, you are in for an incredible treat."
The event will begin at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15 and is free and open to the public. First come, first served. Seating is limited to approximately 300 patrons.
The Meinders School of Business is located at 27th St. and McKinley Ave. on the campus of Oklahoma City University.
OCPA is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank which formulates public policy research and analysis consistent with the principles of free enterprise, limited government, and individual initiative.
About the photo: This is the 1297 copy of the Magna Carta, purchased by the Australian Government for £12,500 from King's School, Bruton, England. On display in the Members' Hall of Parliament House, Canberra.