MORNING HEADLINES | The YWCA of Greater Charleston this year continues to honor the contributions of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with a breakfast summit, a Sunday service, parade and a new social justice award.
The multi-day celebration, one of the nation’s earliest MLK tributes, was first held in 1972.
“Justice in Action: Investing in People, Purpose and Progress” is the theme for the celebration that begins today with the 7 a.m. business and professional breakfast at the Charleston Gaillard Center. Brian Itzkowitz, president and CEO of Palmetto Goodwill, will be the keynote speaker.
During the breakfast, the YWCA will present the Joseph P. Riley Jr. Vision Award to Darrin Goss Sr., president and CEO of the Coastal Community Foundation. The Riley award will also be presented posthumously to Dr. Charles P. Darby Jr., former chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the Medical University of South Carolina.
Other MLK events:
At 4 p.m. Sunday, former S.C. Sen. Marlon E. Kimpson will be the guest speaker at Charity Missionary Baptist Church during the MLK Ecumenical Service. During the service, the Harvey Gantt Triumph Award will be given to Lee J. Bennett Jr., a volunteer historian at Emanuel AME Church.
At 6 p.m. Friday, the Horace Lee Mungin Racial Healing Award will be presented at the Wild Dunes Resort on the Isle of Palms. The honor is a new YWCA honor that will be given annually to an individual and an organization that uses creativity and truth-telling to preserve culture and inspire justice.
Orangeburg photographer, civil rights activist and museum curator Cecil J. Williams is the inaugural individual Mungin honoree. The inaugural organization Mungin honoree is the Public Works Art Center in Summerville.The center is recognized for its commitment to empathy, togetherness and healing through the arts
Mungin, a Ridgeville resident who passed away in September 2021, was a pioneering writer, poet and activist in the Black arts movement.
On Monday, the MLK celebration ends with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. federal holiday parade. The parade will begin at 10 a.m. at Burke High School and end at Marion Square. Community advocate Anjene “AJ” Davis, co-founder of the Lowcountry Black Parents Association, will serve as the 2026 MLK parade marshal.
After the parade, the International African American Museum will host a free event honoring King’s life. It will have complimentary admission, youth-focused activities and family-friendly experiences.
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