2017 MLK celebration theme, keynote speakers announced
December 19, 2016
Charleston’s ten-day Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration, the largest and longest running event of its kind in South Carolina, will be headlined in January by social justice activist and attorney Benjamin L. Crump, Esquire and Eugene Woods, president and CEO of Carolinas HealthCare System. The annual tribute’s theme will be “A Dream Unfulfilled.”
The MLK Ecumenical Service will be held on Sunday, January 15 at 4:00 p.m. at Morris Street Baptist Church, where Mr. Crump will deliver the address to more than 1,000 expected attendees. The service is free and open to the public.
The noted civil rights attorney, who is currently representing the family of slain black teenager Trayvon Martin, is also the president of the National Civil Rights Trial Lawyers Association and CEO of the Benjamin Crump Social Justice Institute, created to address social issues that disproportionately impact the nation’s most vulnerable citizens. He has been recognized by Ebony magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential African Americans and has received the National Civil Rights Museum’s Freedom Award, the American Association for Justice Johnny Cochran Award, the NAACP Thurgood Marshall Award, and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference’s Martin Luther King Servant Leader Award.
The MLK Business and Professional Breakfast will cap the ten-day tribute. Held at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 17, the event will feature Eugene Woods as keynote speaker and Mayor John Tecklenburg as honorary chairman.
As president and CEO of Carolinas HealthCare System, Mr. Woods leads one of the most comprehensive healthcare systems in the nation, with over 900 care locations in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia where 62,000 employees provide care through 12.5 million patient encounters per year. He has spent 24 years as a leader in the healthcare field, overseeing non-profit and for-profit managed hospitals, academic and community-based delivery systems, and rural and urban facilities. On January 1, 2017, he will become the Chairman of the Board of the American Hospital Association.
The MLK Breakfast is again expected to be attended by hundreds of Charleston’s business, civic, and clergy leaders; at the 2016 event, more than 600 attendees packed a large ballroom, joining hands at the close of the event in a show of unity.
This year’s theme was chosen to call attention to what remains to be done. “As a committee, we felt that ‘A Dream Unfilled’ speaks to the fact that even though our society has made progress, we still have a lot of work to do,” says LaVanda Brown, executive director of the YWCA of Greater Charleston. “Many of the changes Dr. King fought for have been won, but the work is not done.”
Kerri Forrest, board chair of the YWCA of Greater Charleston, is eager to hear the keynote speakers’ messages. “Benjamin Crump and Eugene Woods are leaders in two critical issues in our society: the fight for justice for people of color, and the struggles that women and people of color continue to experience in the U.S. healthcare system,” she says. “There is the potential for a major healthcare shift in 2017, and Mr. Woods will be leading an organization charged with creating healthier communities in a potentially challenging time. And to have Mr. Crump, who is squarely at the forefront of the fight for justice for people of color at this time in history, particularly as the Charleston community continues to heal in the aftermath of two violent, high-profile incidents being played out in the court system, is tremendous.”
Organizations can sign up to sponsor the breakfast now at ywca-charlestonsc.org or by calling 843-722-1644. Individual breakfast tickets will be available for $45 per person on January 1.
ABOUT THE MLK CELEBRATION
The 45th Annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration is one of Charleston’s longest running events, predating Spoleto Festival USA and other well-known local events. The annual celebration was founded by the YWCA of Greater Charleston and first held in January 1972—one of the first such tributes to Dr. King in the nation. The breakfast was added in January 2000 in partnership with former Mayor Joseph P. Riley. Today the celebration is the largest tribute to Dr. King in South Carolina, attracting 30,000 celebrants each year.
ABOUT THE YWCA OF GREATER CHARLESTON
For more than 100 years, the YWCA of Greater Charleston has served women, children, and families in Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester Counties in its mission to empower women and eliminate racism. By engaging area residents and organizations, it seeks to create opportunities for the personal growth, leadership, and economic development of women and people of color in order to attain justice, freedom, and dignity for all people. It is a longstanding local association of YWCA USA, one of the oldest and largest multicultural women’s organizations in the United States. For over 150 years, the YWCA has been at the forefront of most social movements—from civil rights, affordable housing, and pay equity to domestic violence prevention and healthcare reform. For more information, visit ywca-charlestonsc.org.
ABOUT THE BENJAMIN CRUMP SOCIAL JUSTICE INSTITUTE
For more information about the Benjamin Crump Social Institute, visit www.bcsji.com.
