Community Invited to Celebrate the Life and Legacy of MLK, Students Gear Up for Service at Claflin University
Jan 13, 2015
Claflin University will hold a celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, January 20, 2015, in the James and Dorothy Z. Elmore Chapel on campus. The community is invited.
The program’s theme is “We Have a Great Deal of Positive Work to Do.” The speaker will be Dr. Alexander Daniel Hamilton, VI, associate dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel and director of Campus Ministry at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA.
Hamilton started his career as a mathematics teacher at an inner city public high school, and has taught mathematics at the middle school, high school and collegiate levels. He holds six earned academic degrees, including a doctorate in educational organization and leadership with a concentration in higher education administration and policy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Juris Doctor and MBA degrees from Howard University, a master’s degree in mathematics education from Georgia State University, a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Morris Brown College and a Master of Divinity degree from Yale University.
From HBCUs to the Ivy League, Hamilton developed strong convictions regarding educational opportunity as a necessary benefit of American democracy and productive global citizenship. Personal responsibility, hard work, passion, integrity and character are the cornerstones of his life and personal philosophy.
Hamilton has been honored by numerous civic and civil rights organizations, including the NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus, 100 Black Men, National Black MBA Association and National Education Association, and was named the Charles Hamilton Houston Scholar for Law by the Washington Bar Association at its 2003 annual meeting. As a civil rights attorney, Hamilton is barred in Georgia, Washington, D.C., United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia and United States District Court of the District of Columbia, and is a member the United States Supreme Court bar. He has presented extensively on equal protection jurisprudence, civil rights litigation and affirmative action.
Claflin University began observing its MLK Days of Service on Tuesday, January 13, with a Regional Medical Center Red Cord Blood Drive from noon to 5 p.m. on Kleist Circle, co-sponsored by Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Other opportunities for students to get involved in community service this week include:
- Wednesday, January 14
- Community Service in the Café. 11 a.m.-1 p.m.
- Thursday, January 15
- Community Service Sign-Up. 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Office of Career Development.
- Friday, January 16
- 145 Seconds of Service. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Office of Career Development. (sponsored by Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.)
- Soup Kitchen. 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Williams Chapel AME Church, Orangeburg.
- Saturday, January 17
- Soup Kitchen. 10 a.m. Greater Faith Baptist Church, Orangeburg.
- Monday, January 19 –
- Service at The Methodist Oaks. 10:30 a.m. (sponsored by Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.)
- BINGO at Morningside. 6 p.m.
The University’s MLK Days of Service and MLK celebration program are sponsored by the Division of Student Development and Services and Office of Career Development, Program for Service Learning and Community Service