MLK Panel Discussion

The Commission for Blacks will be hosting an MLK Panel Discussion, and we would be honored to have you participate in this interactive virtual event at 2 p.m. on Monday, January 18. The panel will focus on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and how it's presented to the public. Panelists for the discussion include:

Dr. LaToya Eaves is an Assistant Professor of Geography at UT. Eaves’ research and teaching interests are at the intersections of race, gender, diaspora, critical geography and sexuality studies, and she has published on the emancipatory geographic practices of Black women in the U.S. South. Among current active projects, Eaves was recently awarded a research grant from the National Science Foundation to analyze the role of race, place, heritage, memory, tourism, and community and civic engagement through African American History Museums (AAHMs) across the United States. Eaves is also founder and served as inaugural chair of the Black Geographies Specialty Group for the American Association of Geographers.

Deborah Porter is a native Knoxvillian and is a graduate of Austin-East High School and UT.  Presently, she works for the TN Small Business Development Center and is retired from Knox County Government and Tennessee Valley Authority. She has been involved in the community for several years and serves on community boards and projects, such as the Executive Committee of the Knoxville Branch NAACP; FAITH Coalition Chair; previous member of the University of TN Black Alumni Association; East TN Civil Rights Working Group Committee Member, Top Ladies of Distinction, Inc., Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Commission Chair, Charter Member of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women; and member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. She is very active at Community Evangelistic Church where she serves as an Elder.