Spelman alumna Dr. Bernice King, has been appointed co-chair of a new outreach committee in Georgia as the state copes with the coronavirus, Gov. Brian Kemp announced.
King, chief executive officer of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in Atlanta, Georgia, will be joined on the committee by more than a dozen business and community leaders.
“Comprised of talented individuals from the public and private sectors, I am confident this committee will ensure that our state remains prepared in the fight against COVID-19,” Governor Kemp said.
Born the youngest daughter of the late Coretta Scott King and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., King earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Spelman, and a Masters of Divinity and Doctorate of Law Degrees from Emory University. She has also received an honorary Doctorate of Divinity degree from Wesley College. She is currently a member of the State Bar of Georgia. She serves on the HOPE Southeastern Board of Directors of Operation HOPE and the Board of the inaugural Regions Diversity Advisory Council for Regions Financial.
With a strong concern for youth, community and family partnership, King served as a law clerk in the Fulton County Juvenile Court system, under Judge Glenda Hatchett. It was there that she realized that a growing number of teens have been double victims: first of society and secondly of an ineffective legal system based in retribution instead of rehabilitation.
She has also served as a mentor to a group of 5th grade girls at an inner-city Atlanta elementary school, where she spent time molding their character and values so that one day they too would become a force to be reckoned with in the world. In keeping with this vision, in 2007 King spoke at the inauguration of the Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy (CSKYWLA) where she gave the charge to the 6th grade girls who would be attending the new all-girls school. She reminded them that they were making history because they were among the first chosen to attend this school and as a result they would be expected to set the trend that others would follow.
She continues to serve as a mentor for the young ladies at CSKYWLA. In January of 2011, Bernice launched the “100 Days of Nonviolence” campaign at CSKYWLA to expose them to nonviolence as modeled by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (“Kingian Nonviolence”), and to encourage them to begin embracing it as a way of life. She challenges these young ladies to combat bullying, fighting, and negative attitudes by using their tongue in a manner that is positive and uplifting.
Through her work at the King Center, she has continued to educate youth about the Kingian Nonviolence principles modeled by her parents. In 2012, she implemented an annual N.O.W. Encounter Summer Youth Camp which has trained youth from as far as Cyprus, Greece. As an author, she has to her credit, her book, Hard Questions, Heart Answers, a compelling and inspiring book