By Aleah Ralph
In observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the College of Charleston’s Office of Institutional Diversity is presenting an event featuring S.C. Sen. Marlon E. Kimpson at 6 p.m. on Jan. 14, 2016.
The event will take place in the Stern Ballroom, located at 71 George St. The event will continue after Sen. Kimpson’s speech with a candlelight vigil in Stern Garden, located behind the Stern Student Center. Campus will be closed on Jan. 18, 2015, in observance of the holiday.
The College will observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, with a special event at 6 p.m. on Jan. 14, 2016.
Kimspon, whose district includes Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church, was a key supporter of the recent removal of the Confederate flag from the S.C. Statehouse. The College chose Kimspon as keynote speaker because of the lawmaker’s strong record on diversity issues, said John Bello-Ogunu, Sr., chief diversity officer for the Office of Institutional Diversity.
“It is an honor to have Senator Kimpson as the keynote speaker for the College of Charleston’s observance of MLK Day,” Bello-Ogunu said. “Senator Kimpson’s strong commitment to diversity, inclusion, and social justice makes him a perfect choice for this very important event in honor of the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and we look forward to welcoming him to our beautiful campus.”
S.C. Sen. Marlon Kimpson
The event follows in the wake of the June 17, 2015, shooting at the Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church. This will be the first MLK Day since the tragic event. Bello-Ogunu said King’s lessons are particularly relevant today given current events. “It provides us with an opportunity to be reminded that while our nation has made much progress in realizing some aspects of Dr. King’s ‘Dream,’ we still have a very long, difficult, and painful road to travel and much difficult work to do before we can achieve real racial equality and harmony in the United States of America.”
The Office of Institutional Diversity’s Signature Speaker Series was created to promote community dialogue on diversity, inclusion, and social justice issues through presentations, workshops and seminars by local, regional and national speakers with the ultimate goal of advancing diversity, access, equity and inclusion at the College of Charleston.
