Son of Mother Emanuel victim to lead MLK Parade; MLK award winners announced
January 11, 2017
Charleston, S.C. – The son of Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, one of the Mother Emanuel Nine, will serve as parade marshal during the Charleston region’s 2017 Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration.
Chris Singleton will kick off the MLK Parade at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, January 16, rain or shine. An expected 60 to 100 parade floats and groups will make their way from Burke High School to Marion Square in downtown Charleston during the roughly 90-minute event, which is free and open to the public. A crowd of thousands is expected to cheer them on. The parade will also be live-streamed by WCBD News 2 at CountOn2.com.
Chris Singleton’s grief-stricken story was profiled by Sports Illustrated one year after the June 2015 Mother Emanuel shooting, describing how he raced along I-26 to the church after receiving a call from a shaken woman, only to find the blinding lights of a police barricade once he arrived. Seeking desperately to find out if his mother was among the dead, the magazine related, he sent out a plea to his friends via social media, begging them to pray for his mother.
Charleston Southern University, where he studies and plays baseball, set up a fund in memory of Sharonda Coleman-Singleton soon after the shooting. In addition to meeting his educational expenses, her son requested that the funds go toward a baseball enrichment center in memory of his mother. The Sharonda Coleman-Singleton Enrichment Center will be in place this season at the school.
“Chris Singleton’s impact has transcended not just the Charleston Southern baseball program, but also the city of Charleston over the past two years,” says Stuart Lake, CSU baseball coach. “His impact on the field is matched by his leadership off the field. The phrase ‘Love is Stronger’ has been key to the transformation at Charleston Southern over the past year.”
Parade entries will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. Friday, January 13. Participants can register online at ywca-charlestonsc.org or by calling 843-722-1644. Entry fees range from $10 per group of walkers to $20 per float and $25 per bus. Participants should plan to arrive at 9:00 a.m. to line up.
The parade will be immediately followed by a Youth Speak Out event at the corner of Coming and Calhoun Streets on the College of Charleston campus. The event, which will include an open microphone and poetry slam, will bring together a diverse group of young people from across the Charleston region to creatively express their views, challenges, and triumphs. Participants will be encouraged to look back at the unfinished parts of Dr. King’s legacy and share their thoughts.
The top three Youth Speak Out awardees will present at the MLK Youth Forum immediately following the MLK Business and Professional Breakfast the next morning.
The breakfast, which will be held at 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, January 17, will feature a keynote address by Eugene A. Woods, president and CEO of Carolinas HealthCare System, and the presentation of a highly respected award.
The Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Vision Award, now in its third year, is named for Charleston’s longest-serving mayor, who capped his 40-year career as mayor on January 11, 2016. “Much of the MLK Breakfast’s success is attributed to Mayor Riley’s leadership,” says Kerri Forrest, board director of the YWCA of Greater Charleston. Creators of the award set out to carry on his legacy by recognizing people with a similar vision.
This year’s recipient of the award will be education advocate Benjamin W. Navarro, founder and CEO of Sherman Financial Group, the nation’s largest privately held consumer finance company.
While his firm seeks to meet the needs of consumers underserved by traditional financial institutions, Mr. Navarro’s personal passion revolves around his belief that all children, regardless of their circumstances, deserve the opportunity to receive an excellent education. He founded Meeting Street Schools in 2008 to provide transformational educational opportunities to children who live in areas where access to quality public education or affordable private alternatives is severely limited.
The organization serves more than 900 children across three South Carolina campuses. In 2014 Mr. Navarro gave a TEDxCharleston talk about how its model can close the opportunity gap in South Carolina schools for under-resourced children.
The Harvey Gantt Triumph Award, established in 1984, recognizes lasting contributions to civil and human rights. Named after Harvey B. Gantt, an architect and statesman who was the first African-American student to attend Clemson University, the award’s past recipients have included Senator Ted Kennedy, U.S. Representative John Lewis, South Carolina AFL-CIO President Emeritus Donna Dewitt, the Honorable James Clyburn, the Honorable Lucille Whipper, and the Honorable Septima Clark.
Receiving the 2017 Harvey Gantt Triumph Award at the 2017 MLK Ecumenical Service at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 15 will be Dot S. Scott, president of the Charleston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), who describes her commitment to the organization’s mission as a “laser focus.”
“With abiding faith and the determination of a freedom fighter,” she writes, “I’ve been privileged beyond measure to have this opportunity to be the eyes, ears, and voice for those who feel they need support to have their concerns amplified, addressed, and resolved.”
A fellow of the inaugural class of the Furman University School of Diversity, she is also a minority entrepreneur and the senior choir president and religion chair at Zion United Methodist Church.
Breakfast tickets are available for $45 per person by calling 843-722-1644. Individuals interested in the Youth Speak Out event should contact Leroy Lewis at [email protected] or 843-442-1727.
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.
