“The US at 250 from South Africa,” October 14 Kinder Institute Global 250 Lecture Series Kickoff with former South African Constitutional Court Judge Albie Sachs

To celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States, the Kinder Institute will bring scholars from around the globe to Columbia throughout the Spring 2026 semester to share thoughts on the nation’s semi-quincentennial anniversary from an international vantage point. Providing a preview of what’s to come, prominent lawyer and anti-Apartheid activist Albie Sachs will visit Columbia on October 14 to consider the US at 250 from the perspective of South Africa and through the lens of his role in the broader cause to defend justice around the globe. The talk will be held at 5pm at the State Historical Society of Missouri, with a reception to follow.

Albie Sachs has held positions as the founding director of the South African Constitutional Studies Centre at University of London, at the Columbia University Schools of Law and International and Public Affairs, on the law faculty at University of the Western Cape, and as an Honorary Professor at the University of Cape Town, where he received his law degree. In 1994, he was appointed by Nelson Mandela as a judge on the first South African Constitutional Court.