National speaker and Oglethorpe University professor Dr. Kendra King will bring her passion for politics to Georgia Perimeter College as part of the 2015-16 Sarah Larson Lecture Series.

King will lead a discussion about voters’ rights in the first of a two-part series at GPC-Dunwoody on Wednesday, Sept. 30, from 1-2:15 p.m.  The professor of politics will explore the Voting Rights Act’s history and examine its contemporary relevance in a lecture titled “Voting Rights, Extensions and What If Kanye Runs for President?”  

“She integrates politics and voting rights with hip hop, which I thought was a very interesting mixture,” says Mark Banas, GPC professor and co-chair of the lecture series.

Georgia Perimeter’s Sarah Larson Lecture Series received a grant from Georgia Humanities to focus on discussions surrounding the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Banas is confident that King’s engaging and energetic presentation style will connect with students.

“I want students to be aware of not only the Voting Rights Act of 1965, but also what’s been changing regarding its interpretation,” Banas says. “I also hope they gain a better understanding that we need to be involved in our communities in terms of voting.” 

King grew up in a housing project in Rhode Island. At 26, she earned her doctorate in political science, as well as a certificate degree in political psychology from The Ohio State University. In addition to Oglethorpe, she has taught at the University of Georgia. She’s the author of the book “African-American Politics.”

The Sarah Larson Lecture Series will host King’s presentation, supported by the Georgia Humanities grant and also the National Endowment for the Humanities—as well as through appropriations from the Georgia General Assembly. A second lecture is scheduled for sometime later this fall.

The Sept. 30 event is free and open to the public in Georgia Perimeter College’s Dunwoody Campus auditorium,  2101 Womack Road, NC Building, room 1100. For additional information, contact Megan Levacy, at megan.levacy@gpc.edu or 770-274-5583.