Contact: Staci Maiers, NEA Public Relations (202) 822-7823

July 3, 2007

James Earl Jones Unveils Magna Carta Exhibit at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia

Exhibit presented by NEA with support from Verizon Communications

PHILADELPHIA—Legendary actor James Earl Jones today helped unveil a new temporary exhibit featuring a rare copy of the Magna Carta with executives on hand from the National Constitution Center, the National Education Association and Verizon Communications.

(l-r) The Very Rev. Philip Buckler, Dean of Lincoln Cathedral in the United Kingdom, which loaned the rare copy of Magna Carta, sits with NEA President Reg Weaver and legendary actor James Earl Jones at the unveiling of a new exhibit, Magna Carta: Foundation of Freedom, presented by the National Education Association and sponsored by Verizon Communications, at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. (c) 2007 Photo by Sabina Louise Pierce. Courtesy of the National Education Association. All rights reserved.

The exhibit Magna Carta: Foundation of Freedom, presented by NEA with support from Verizon Communications, will be on display July 4–25 at the National  Constitution Center. The 3.2 million-member NEA, celebrating its landmark 150th anniversary, was instrumental in bringing the exhibit to Philadelphia to coincide with its Annual Meeting and Representative Assembly, which is expected to attract more than 9,000 educators from around the country.

"At the National Education Association, we believe that a quality public education is a basic right of every child—a right as fundamental as those that were spelled out in Magna Carta," said NEA President Reg Weaver. "We believe that our work to close academic achievement gaps and reduce the dropout rate is a natural outgrowth of the great principles that were set forth in these remarkable documents.  And we're proud to play a part in bringing these historical treasures together to help America's  students understand our nation's values and deepen their love of history."

Dozens of children—ages 6 to 13, who are participating in the center's American Adventure Summer Camp—performed a five-minute play about the Magna Carta. This was followed by Jones, famous for being the voice of Darth Vader, reciting the Declaration of Independence, in the spirit of the Fourth of July.

On loan from the Lincoln Cathedral in the United Kingdom, the  Magna Carta will be on a special temporary display inside the center's main exhibition, The Story of We, the People. The exhibit also received the support of Bank of America and The Prudential Insurance Company of America.

Magna Carta: Foundation of Freedom coincides with the center's summer display of a signed Emancipation Proclamation and a printing of the U.S. Constitution.

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The National Education Association is the nation’s largest professional employee organization, representing 3.2 million elementary and secondary teachers, higher education faculty,
educational support professionals, school administrators, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers.