The College of Charleston will host a series of events to honor the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. throughout January.

The theme for this year’s events is “Addressing Race through a Loving Lens,” and is inspired by King’s call for people of different faiths and ethnicities to join him in the second march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, commonly referred to as “Turnaround Tuesday.”

The Office of Institutional Diversity will kick-off this year’s events by inviting campus to “share the dream” for a more equitable College of Charleston.  Between Jan. 9 and 11, the campus community is invited to express their thoughts on how to create a better CofC and then post those ideas on large boards that will be stationed in Cougar Mall and Rivers Green.

The College of Charleston will host a talk by the Rev. Sharon Washington Risher on Jan. 31, 2018, in the McAlister Suite of TD Arena. The free program will begin at 6 p.m.

Risher is the daughter of the late Ethel Lee Lance, one of nine parishioners killed at Emanuel A.M.E. Church on June 17, 2015. Since that tragedy, she has been outspoken about the nation’s gun laws and is one of the national spokespersons for the grassroots advocacy groups Everytown and Moms Demand Gun Sense. Risher’s speech is presented by the Center for Civic Engagement, Multicultural Student Programs and Services, Jewish Student Union/Hillel and Religious Life Council.

To conclude this year’s commemoration, OID, MSPS and Civic Engagement will co-host an inter-faith brunch and workshop on Jan. 27 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. in the Education Alumni Center (86 Wentworth St.). This event will feature prominent leaders from local faith-based organizations and is designed to equip and empower the community to address race through a loving lens. Issues to be explored are economic development, health equity and coalition building – all in line with King’s principles of “The Beloved Community.”

The workshop will feature:

  • Greg Surratt (founding pastor of Seacoast Church)
  • Rev. Bill Stanfield (CEO of Metanoia)
  • LaVanda Brown (Executive Director for the YWCA of Greater Charleston)
  • Treva Williams (Lead Organizer for Charleston Area Justice Ministry)
  • Pastor Jeff Leinberger (Executive Director for the North Charleston Dream Center Clinic)
  • Cicely McCray (Vice President for the Royal Foundation)

Registration is required due to limited seating.