College Honors Legacy of MLK

The College of Charleston campus will be closed on January 19, 2015, in honor of Martin Luther King Day.

The following events and activities are planned in recognition of this state and federal holiday:

Benjamin Jealous, former president and CEO of the NAACP, will speak at the College 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. Doors open at 6 p.m.

RELATED: Read more about Benjamin Jealous.

The annual MLK Holiday Parade, sponsored by the City of Charleston and the YWCA Greater Charleston, begins at 11 a.m., Jan. 19.

The parade route begins at Burke High School, 244 President St., and Several members of the College community will take part in the parade, including Tommy Baker, a Charleston businessman and member of the School of Business Board of Governors, who will serve as Grand Marshal for the MLK Parade.

The 2015 MLK Youth Speak-Out and Poetry Slam will take place at 12:30 p.m.

The poetry slam will immediately follow the MLK Parade, in the College’s School of Sciences and Mathematics Building Auditorium, 202 Calhoun St. To register for the poetry slam, contact the YWCA at 843.722.1644.

RELATED: See an extended list of other MLK-related events in Charleston.

Several College Offices will host a small-scale day of service.

As part of the national MLK Day of Service, the College’s Center for Civic Engagement, the Office of Institutional Diversity and the Office of Student Life is providing faculty, staff and students with the opportunity to participate in a small-scale day of service in Charleston on Monday, Jan. 19.

These service experiences will be led by a group of 10 students who will spend the weekend preceding MLK Day learning about the Civil Rights movement, active citizenship and volunteer management as part of an Alternative Break weekend in Charleston.

The College’s Bonner Leaders will spend part of MLK Day serving with the Green Heart Project at Mitchell Elementary in Charleston.

For more information about the MLK Day of Service, contact Maggie Szeman, assistant director of the Center for Civic Engagement, at szemanme@cofc.edu or 843.953.0810.