{"id":35621,"date":"2024-12-17T13:23:05","date_gmt":"2024-12-17T18:23:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/?p=35621"},"modified":"2024-12-18T16:07:17","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T21:07:17","slug":"political-strategist-l-joy-williams-to-speak-at-furmans-mlk-community-breakfast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.furman.edu\/news\/political-strategist-l-joy-williams-to-speak-at-furmans-mlk-community-breakfast\/","title":{"rendered":"Political Strategist L. Joy Williams to speak at Furman\u2019s MLK Community Breakfast"},"content":{"rendered":"

L. Joy Williams, a long-time political strategist and creator and host of the podcast \u201cSunday Civics,\u201d will be the keynote speaker at the 2025 MLK Community Breakfast at Furman University with a talk addressing \u201cDemocracy in Action: Unleashing the Might of Political Participation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The breakfast will begin at 8 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 17, with the program beginning at 8:30 a.m. in the Younts Conference Center on Furman\u2019s campus. FUGE, the Furman University Gospel Ensemble, will perform. Others scheduled to deliver remarks are Furman University President Elizabeth Davis and Senior Pastor Reggie Garrett \u201998 of Jubilee Baptist Church.<\/p>\n

The annual event is an opportunity for the community to join Furman students, faculty and staff to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Tickets ($50 per person, $400 for a table of eight; Furman employees will receive a discount code by email) are available\u00a0here<\/a>. Proceeds from the public support the Joseph Vaughn Scholarships<\/a>\u00a0at Furman.<\/p>\n

This year, Williams will participate in a new Cultural Life Program for students on the evening before the breakfast. She will join Teresa Cosby, professor of politics and international affairs, in a \u201cfireside chat\u201d to discuss \u201cBlack Political Activism in the Age of Trump.\u201d The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Watkins Room of the Trone Student Center.<\/p>\n

Williams, a regular commentator on MSNBC and NY1, is the president of the Brooklyn, New York, NAACP. She is a legislative coordinator for the New York State NAACP Conference of Branches, where she helped pass the New York John Lewis Voting Rights Act and establish a commission on reparations.<\/p>\n

As a political strategist, she has assisted in the campaigns of Nina Turner for Ohio secretary of state, Stacy Abrams for governor of Georgia and Cynthia Nixon for governor of New York. Williams is also an active public speaker and has participated in panels at the NAACP National Convention and SXSW. She was a featured speaker at the Women\u2019s Freedom Conference, the first all-digital conference completely organized by women of color.<\/p>\n

The MLK Breakfast at Furman is one of several events honoring King. Other activities include:<\/p>\n