Programs

Each year The Citadel honors the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by partnering with campus and community organizations to host various events such as an annual speaker series led by The Krause Center, a student-driven program hosted by the Black History Intercollegiate Consortium (BHIC) and support and participation in events led by the YWCA of Greater Charleston.

MLK Historical Resource Guide

The Black History Intercollegiate Consortium

Created in 1988 by Bob Gillis and Dr. Earl Higgins (administrators at The College of Charleston and Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), respectively) BHIC aims to enhance racial harmony between the five major colleges across the tri-county area. Each year the Consortium hosts a program celebrating the life of Dr. King.

Did you know that Black History Month initially began as a weeklong celebration? Founded by Harvard educated historian Carter G. Woodson, in 1925 as Negro History Week, the celebration intended to raise awareness of the contributions by blacks to American life and culture was eventually extended to a month in 1976 by President Gerald Ford.

2024 National Theme: African Americans and the Arts

Women’s History Month has its origins in a local initiative started by the Education Task Force of Sonoma County Commission in Santa Rosa, California which created Women’s History Week to coincide with International Women’s Day (March 8). Within two years the local event became a national movement leading President Jimmy Carter to issue a Presidential Proclamation declaring the Week of March 8, 1980 as National Women’s History Week, later extended to a month by another Presidential Proclamation in 1987 (source: womenshistorymonth.gov).  

2023 National Theme: Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories (learn more here)

National Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September 15 to October 15 and recognizes the historical and cultural contributions to America by those with ancestry from Spain, Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean. Initially started as Hispanic Heritage Week during Lyndon Johnson’s presidency in 1968, the celebration was expanded to a month under President Ronald Reagan’s administration in 1988. The unique timeframe for the month’s observance is significant as it commemorates the independence of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico and Chile. 

The origins of Native American Heritage Month date back to 1915, when Red Fox James – a member of the Blackfoot Tribe – rode horseback seeking support from a day to honor Native Americans. He eventually gained an audience with 24 states at the White House for his proposal. In 1916, New York became the first state to oblige his request, and Illinois followed suit three years later. What initially started as a daylong celebration was extended to a month when President George H.W. Bush formally declared November as Native American Heritage Month in 1990.