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Rev. Renita Marie Lamkin will speak at Jarvis Christian College as part of activities celebrating Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day at 11 a.m. Tuesday in Smith-Howard Chapel.

Rev. Lamkin pastors an African-American Episcopal Church (St. John AME Church) in St. Charles, Missouri.

A resident of Ferguson, Missouri and an active participant in the movement for justice and civil rights, Rev. Lamkin has been the subject of much conversation surrounding recent events in Ferguson where she has marched on the front line with area residents and religious leaders to protest the shooting death of Michael Brown, an African-American teenager shot and killed in the street by a white police officer.

During one of these protest marches, while attempting to mediate between the protestors and the police, Rev. Lamkin was shot by a rubber bullet fired by police.

Regarding the volatile situation in Ferguson, Rev. Lamkin stated that she “has a problem with the way the justice system treats people of color, especially black men.”

Rev. Lamkin has also championed the plight of homeless residents of St. Charles, including raising awareness of their plight and raising resources. She successfully advocated for the creation of zoning to allow for housing of homeless persons in the city of St. Charles. 

For her tireless efforts to fight for those who are disenfranchised and to help those who are underprivileged in her community, in 2012 she was named the St. Charles City “Dr. King Community Builder of the Year.”

Rev. Lamkin is past president of the St. Charles Ministerial Alliance, former coordinator of AME Women in Ministry, and a contributor to the Huffington Post.