Special to the Journal

Albany, Ga. – A pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement and a CNN correspondent will headline Albany State University’s commemorative program honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Charlayne Hunter-Gault was on the front lines of the action when Georgia desegregated public schools through a court order. She was one of two African American students admitted into the University of Georgia in 1961 after a 2-year struggle. Hunter-Gault is the keynote speaker at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Convocation scheduled at 9:50 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 17, in the ASU Student Center Ballroom located on campus.

Pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement and a CNN correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault will headline Albany State University’s commemorative program honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Hunter-Gault worked as an investigative reporter and anchor at WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. At the New York Times she specialized in covering the urban African-American community. After joining The MacNeil/Lehrer Report as a correspondent, she became The NewsHour’s national correspondent. She also worked in Johannesburg, South Africa as National Public Radio’s chief correspondent in Africa.

The Civil Rights trailblazer is the recipient of many awards. She received two Emmys and a Peabody for excellence in broadcast journalism for a series about South Africa entitled, Apartheid’s People; also the “Journalist of the Year” award from the National Association of Black Journalists; the Sidney Hillman Award; and two honors presented by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

A memoir, In My Place chronicles Hunter-Gault’s experiences at the University of Georgia. She is currently working on a first-person memoir detailing the struggle of African Americans in the 1960s.

The MLK Day Convocation funded by Title III is open to the community. For more information, call the Office of University Communications at (229) 430-4671.