January 12, 2021

Susquehanna University has a slate of events planned to honor the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. during the week of Jan. 25.

Headlining the university’s annual Winter Convocation is LaTosha Brown, co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund and fellow at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

Brown will deliver her message, Who Will Save American Democracy? The Role of Women, Young Voters and People of Color in American Politics, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held virtually via Zoom.

Brown is an award-winning community organizer, philanthropic consultant, jazz singer and political strategist with over 20 years of experience working in the nonprofit and philanthropy sectors on a wide variety of issues related to social justice, economic development, leadership development, wealth creation and civil rights.

As a native of Alabama, Brown has dedicated her life’s work to organizing resources and supporting the development of community-based institutions in the South, particularly in the Black Belt and Gulf Coast regions. She has also worked as a trainer, speaker and facilitator in the international arena. She is currently working with the Guyanese Black Women’s Roundtable to provide training and increase funding and investment opportunities for women-led institutions based in Guyana, South America.

Brown is the founder of Saving OurSelves Coalition, a community-led disaster relief organization that helped hundreds of families in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the Southern Black Women Organizing Project, which works to strengthen the network of Black women grassroots leaders in the South.

Additional activities during the week at Susquehanna include:

  • An interfaith chapel service, Journeys to Justice, on Wednesday, Jan. 27, at 4:30 p.m., with the Rev. Scott Kershner, university chaplain, presiding. All are welcome.
  • The Legacy of MLK – A Day of Teaching, on Thursday, Jan. 28. The daylong event features lectures and readings in topics across the humanities and sciences.