Lowcountry MLK Celebration – “Working for the American Dream”
January 15, 2013
CHARLESTON, SC – January 15, 2013 – Two iconic civil rights advocates, US Congressman John Lewis of Georgia and South Carolina AFL-CIO President Emeritus Donna Dewitt, will receive the prestigious Harvey Gantt Triumph Award at the MLK Tri-County Ecumenical Service, Sunday, January 27, 2013, 4 p.m. at Morris Street Baptist Church, 25 Morris Street in Charleston.
Open to the public, the event culminates the 41st Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration sponsored by the YWCA Greater Charleston. “Working for the American Dream” is the theme.
Lewis, a member of the powerful U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, will keynote the event where US Congressman Jim Clyburn and newly elected State AFL-CIO President Ken Riley will present the Gantt awards respectively to Lewis and Dewitt. Clay Middleton, U.S. Department of Energy Special Assistant, chaired the award selection committee.
The award is named for Charleston native Harvey Gantt who was the first African-American to attend Clemson University in 1963 and to become Charlotte, N.C. Mayor in 1983.
Among her many other awards, Orangeburg resident Dewitt is a recipient of the NAACP’s Benjamin Hooks Keeper of the Flame Award in 2000. President Obama awarded Lewis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in a February 15, 2011 White House ceremony.
According to YWCA Executive Director Kathleen Rodgers, the lowcountry MLK celebration is considered one of South Carolina’s largest events honoring Dr. King. “More than 25,000 lowcountry participants, patrons and businesses support the MLK Celebration,” Rodgers said.
Eva Tansky Blum, Senior Vice President of PNC Bank, Pittsburgh, P.A., will keynote the MLK Business and Professional Breakfast, set for 7: 30 A.M., Tuesday, January 15, 2013 at the TD Arena, 301 Meeting Street, Charleston. The breakfast is co-sponsored by the City of Charleston and the YWCA in cooperation with the College of Charleston. Blum directs PNC Grow Up Great, a ten-year, $100 million program to support early childhood education. For MLK Breakfast advance reservations call the YWCA at 843-722-1644.
A panel discussion titled “Remembering the Civil Rights Movement from the Black and Jewish Perspective,” co-sponsored by the YWCA and synagogue Brith Sholom Beth Israel (BSBI), is set for 7 p.m., Thursday, January 17, at BSBI, 182 Rutledge Avenue, Charleston. Panelists include: Attorney Armand Derfner; Judge Arthur C. McFarland; Historian Liz Alston; Educator, Dr. Andrew HaLevi; Pastor Nelson B. Rivers III; and civic leader Joan Fox.
Open to the public.
The MLK Federal Holiday Parade is set for 11 a.m., Monday, January 21. Charleston County Schools Superintendent Dr. Nancy McGinley is the parade marshal. The parade starts at Burke High School, 244 President Street, proceeds east on Fishburne St. to Ashley Ave., south to Sumter St. east to King St. and south to downtown Charleston and ends at Marion Square. The parade is co-sponsored by City of Charleston and the YWCA.
For more information contact the YWCA at 843-722-1644 or visit www.ywca-charlestonsc.org.
