The play, by Tony award winner Rupert Holmes, presents an intimate portrait of late Supreme Court Justice Ginsburg. Michelle Azar stars as Ginsburg, under the direction of Laley Lippard.

The performance will take place at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 6.

The Jamestown performance is made possible by a collaboration between Reg Lenna Center for The Arts and The Robert H. Jackson Center.

The Jackson Center also will present a tie-in event on May 6 before the performance.

“Notorious RBG” author Irin Carmon and Jackson scholar John Q. Barrett will be featured in a free public discussion and book signing at 2:30 p.m. The discussion will focus on Justice Ginsburg’s and Justice Jackson’s connections to influential constitutional scholar Robert E. Cushman.

Tickets to “All Things Equal” may be purchased online at reglenna.com or at the Reg Lenna Center for The Arts box office by calling 716-484-7070.

Information about the Jackson Center program can be found at roberthjackson.org/events.

Cameron will be appearing at two Young Readers presentations at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts on Wednesday, May 17.

High school and middle school essay questions will be based on “Bluebird” and “The Light in Hidden Places” by Sharon Cameron.

The student essay questions, contest submission link, and event registration information for teachers are available here: bit.ly/YoungReaders2023.

For more information about the Robert H. Jackson Center, visit roberthjackson.org

The Chautauqua County Office for Aging Services is presenting the screening of “All the Lonely People” at 3:00 p.m. at the Center.

It will include a facilitated Question-and-Answer with the film’s producers and local officials, offering a forum for community discussion about ways to develop resilience and implement strategies to combat social isolation.

The event is part of a statewide screening tour organized by the New York State Office for the Aging, the Association on Aging in New York, and locally by the Chautauqua County Office for Aging Services.

Early voting

Chautauqua County Board of Elections Commissioners Luz Torres and Brian Abram announced there will be four poll sites open for early voting.

These sites include the Chautauqua County Fairgrounds, the Chautauqua Mall, the Robert H. Jackson Center and the Board of Elections office.

Each location will have signage that will indicate the entrances to the poll site. All registered voters in Chautauqua County are able to visit any one of these four early voting poll sites to cast their ballot early.

All four sites will be open the same hours: Saturdays and Sundays from 9:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m., Monday and Tuesday from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.; and Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Early voting runs for nine days from Saturday, October 29 through Sunday, November 6. Early voting is not available on Monday, November 7.

All Early Voting sites are handicap accessible and do have a Ballot Marking Device for voters with disabilities.

Voters who cast their ballot early will not be able to cast a ballot during subsequent Early Voting days or on Election Day.

If you request an Absentee Ballot, recent law changes will prevent you from casting your ballot using the voting machine during Early Voting or on Election Day.

If you come to the poll site and want to vote, you will only be able to vote a Provisional Affidavit Ballot, which can be counted if you have not already returned your Absentee Ballot.

Visit votechautauqua.com to view sample ballots and learn more information about election day.

Jamestown BPU Retool ’22 Keynote Speakers Clint Wilder and John Ellis

The Jamestown Board of Public Utilities‘ Retool ’22 Climate Tech Conference kicks off today.

The conference on Monday features afternoon visits to Chautauqua Institution and Robert H. Jackson Center with the full slate of panels, guest speakers, and other activities taking place Tuesday and Wednesday at the Northwest Arena in downtown Jamestown.

The three-day conference will feature industry leaders speaking about market opportunities that exist in climate technology, innovative ideas already being implemented in new business ventures and financial and technical resources available to support business development.

Representatives from secondary and higher educational institutions also will address new careers and workforce training.

Keynote speakers include Clint Wilder, a best-selling author and analyst who has covered the clean energy and climate tech industries for nearly two decades. He is the co-author of two books: The Clean Tech Revolution: The Next Big Growth and Investment Opportunity, and Clean Tech Nation: How the U.S. Can Lead in the New Global Economy. Wilder will give his keynote address at 9:15 a.m., Tuesday, October 18 on Rink A at the Northwest Arena.

John Ellis, best-selling author, software expert and former global technologist with Ford Motor Company, will present an address on opportunities and advancements in supply chain manufacturing and the transportation industry. He is Ellis & Associates’ Managing Director and is an expert in new and emerging transportation technology and how it is changing the way cities, airports and transportation authorities manage public spaces. Ellis is scheduled to give his keynote address at 9:15 a.m., Wednesday, October 19.

The Retool’22 Conference is expected to bring over 200 manufacturers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and educators to Jamestown.

A full schedule and registration information for the conference is available at jamestownbpu.com.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist, Ron Graham, Chautauqua County Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director Randy Anderson

Co-founder of Chautauqua Striders and the Infinity Performing Arts Program, Ron Graham, was recognized at the Robert H. Jackson Center Wednesday.

Chautauqua County Sports Hall of Fame Executive Director Randy Anderson said Graham has become an advocate and mentor for Chautauqua County youth, “Today we are recognizing a man who has devoted nearly 50 years of his life to the design, development, and implementation of youth initiatives; emphasizing athletics, academics, delinquency prevention, and the performing arts.”

He said Graham co-founded Striders with the late Dan Feather, “The idea behind the 1979 formation of the Chautauqua Striders was to help young people reach their potential both on the track and in the classroom with the slogan being ‘Champions On and Off the Field.'”

Anderson said during Graham’s tenure as executive director and coach between 1979 and 1990, he had several athletes who earned NCAA division 1 scholarships and also had students who competed in NCAA Division 2 and 3.

Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist also presented Graham with a certificate of recognition.

Graham was diagnosed earlier this year with stage-four gastroesophageal cancer.

Robert H. Jackson Center Co-Founder Greg Peterson moderates conversation on U.S. Supreme Court Case Plessy v. Ferguson with featured panelists, Phoebe Ferguson and Keith Plessy, descendants of the original case participants.

Greg Peterson holds discussion with Plessy v. Ferguson descendants Phoebe Ferguson and Keith Plessy

Greg Peterson holds discussion with Plessy v. Ferguson descendants Phoebe Ferguson and Keith Plessy

It was a standing room only crowd to hear the descendants of the plaintiff and judge in Plessy v. Ferguson case speak at the Robert H. Jackson Center Tuesday as part of Constitution Day.

Plessy v. Ferguson was a landmark 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine. The case stemmed from an 1892 incident in which African American train passenger Homer Plessy refused to sit in a car for Black people. Rejecting Plessy’s argument that his constitutional rights were violated, the Supreme Court ruled that a law that “implies merely a legal distinction” between white people and Black people was not unconstitutional. As a result, restrictive Jim Crow legislation and separate public accommodations based on race became commonplace.

After the Supreme Court ruling, Plessy pleaded guilty and paid the fine as part of the case. He was posthumously pardoned by the Louisiana Governor on January 5, 2022.

Homer’s descendent, Keith Plessy, described what it was like to be at the pardoning ceremony, “I described to the audience that day that my feet, it felt like my feet were not touching the ground. Because I thought that my ancestors were actually with me, carrying me that day. From all the research that we’ve done in our time and to have the dream that we’ve already dreamt a long time ago, to have everybody come on board when I thought of coming together as opposed to being Plessy vs. Ferguson, we became Plessy and Ferguson. And we decided to be friends.”

Phoebe Ferguson said the mission of the foundation she and Plessy created is to honor the work of the citizen’s committee to take the case to the Supreme Court by teaching the history of the case and how it’s still relevant today, “If you’re following the news, you can understand with the attempt at re-instituting voter suppression laws, and over-incarceration, and even using.. overturning Roe (v. Wade).. using Plessy to overturn Roe brings us into, the case stays in the contemporary discussion about equality.”

The full audio of the discussion on Plessy versus Ferguson at the Robert H. Jackson Center will be available online here:

The program, “From Vs to &: A Living Legacy,” will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., Tuesday, September 13 at the Center.

The free event features Keith Plessy and Phoebe Ferguson with the conversation moderated by Greg Peterson.

The Plessy vs. Ferguson case was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in 1896 in which the Court ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in quality, a doctrine that came to be known as “separate but equal.”

Coinciding with this event, the Jackson Center will host the Lemmon Slave Case Exhibit for one week beginning today, September 12. This panel exhibit of the landmark New York State Court of Appeals case features a video narration by James Earl Jones with an introduction by Chief Judge Janet DiFiore. The exhibit is intended to educate the public on the role of the New York courts in paving the way for the abolition of slavery.

The panel, “The Path and Obstacles to a Special Tribunal for Ukraine,” will take place online from 1:00 to 2:30, Thursday, July 28.

It will feature leading experts on Ukraine and international criminal tribunals who will discuss how an international tribunal could be established to hold Russia accountable for its invasion of Ukraine and the atrocities being committed.

The panel participants will include Former Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and the Legal Counsel of the United Nations Ambassador Hans Corell; former Chief Prosecutor for the Special Court for Sierra Leone and Global Accountability Network founder David Crane; Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Ambassador Anton Korynevych; and Ukrainian Bar Association Executive Director Inna Liniova.

Public International Law & Policy Group co-founder Dr. Paul Wiliams will moderate the panel.

The event is free and you’re asked to register in advance to watch the panel. Visit https://www.roberthjackson.org/ for more information.