The community is invited to "MLK: An Evening of Reflection" on Friday, Jan. 17 at Lander University. The program begins at 5 p.m in the auditorium of the Abney Cultural Center with a reception afterwards.
Dr. Kevin Witherspoon, professor of History and Chair of the Department of History and Philosophy will introduce the panel of guest experts. The discussion, led by moderator Rev. Chris Thomas, director of the Benjamin E. Mays Historic Preservation Site, offers insight into the life of Martin Luther King, Jr., highlighting his personal life and leadership in connection with Greenwood County's Dr. Mays and the entire state.
Panelists are:
- Dr. Orville Vernon Burton, Clemson University's inaugural Judge Matthew J. Perry Distinguished Chair of History and Professor of Pan-African Studies. Burton has received distinguished recognition for his teaching and expertise in African American Studies; Sociology; and Southern History and Culture. Dr. Burton will share thoughts about Dr. King's time at Morehouse College in Atlanta where he studied under Dr. Benjamin Mays.
- Dr. William J. Harris, assistant Professor of History at Presbyterian College. Harris's historical interests are grounded in questions regarding the crossing of race and violence in the African American experience. Dr. Harris will discuss King's leadership of the civil rights movement.
- Victoria A. Smalls, director of History, Art, Culture and Program Development at the Penn Center of St. Helena, S.C. The center was founded in 1862 as Penn School, one of the first schools in the South for formerly enslaved West Africans. After the school closed in 1948, it transitioned its focus to preserving the heritage and history of the Gullah Geechee community, and took up the mantle of social justice by ushering in the Civil Rights Movement. Ms. Smalls will speak about how the Penn Center served as a spiritual retreat for Dr. King and other members of the Civil Rights Movement.
This free event is sponsored by Lander University's Department of History and Philosophy; and the GLEAMNS Dr. Benjamin E. Mays Historic Preservation Site. It is FALS-approved for Lander students seeking credit.
