Benjamin Jealous, former president and CEO of the NAACP, will speak at the College of Charleston on Jan. 15, 2015.
Jealous’ talk – “The Forgotten Origins and Consequences of Race in America” – will take place at 7 p.m. in Sottile Theatre, 44 George St. The event is free and open to the public.
Jealous led the nation’s largest civil rights organization from 2008 to 2013. When he was elected in 2008 at the age of 35, Jealous was the youngest president in the organization’s history. He is credited with growing the NAACP’s membership and expanding its donor base.
During his tenure, he focused the organization on voting rights and criminal justice reform and oversaw the launch of several national programs on education, health, and environmental justice.
A graduate of Columbia University and Oxford University and a Rhodes scholar, Jealous also served as the president of the Rosenberg Foundation and was the founding director of Amnesty International’s U.S. Human Rights Program.
Jealous is currently a Senior Fellow at American Progress and a partner at Kapor Capital, an Oakland-based venture capital firm.
Jealous’ talk is sponsored by the Office of Student Life and the College’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Committee.
