King University’s Institute for Faith & Culture (IFC) welcomes scholar and educator Anika Prather, Ph.D., as speaker for its 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. observance.

An experienced educator, Prather is the founder and head of school for The Living Water School in Temple Hills, Maryland, the author of “Living in the Constellation of the Canon: The Lived Experiences of African American Students Reading Great Books Literature,” and the co-author of “The Black Intellectual Tradition.”

She serves Howard and Johns Hopkins Universities in various roles, including as a faculty member, consultant, and the director of High Quality Curriculum and Instruction at Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy. Her focus on education includes the use of the Classical model by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the broader use of that tradition by the African-American community.

On Sunday, Feb. 4, she will present “The Revolution of the Great Conversation: MLK, Conversation, and Societal Change” at 4 p.m. at Lee Street Baptist Church in Bristol, Virginia.

On Monday, Feb. 5, she will present “A Narrative of Hope: MLK and the Creation and Progress of America” at 9:15 a.m. in King’s Memorial Chapel.

Thanks to a network of donors and friends, both events are open to the public and free of charge.

“We’re delighted to welcome Dr. Prather to King for an exploration of these foundational issues,” said Martin Dotterweich, Ph.D., director of the IFC. “Her passion for justice and truth is grounded in the work of ancient Greek, Roman, and Christian writers, and she invites us all to enter into these great traditions to share thoughtful and meaningful conversations about the intersection of faith and culture.”

Prather earned her bachelor’s degree from Howard University, multiple graduate degrees in education and the liberal arts from Howard, New York University, and St. John’s College, and her doctorate in English, Theatre, and Literacy Education from the University of Maryland – College Park. She and her husband, Damon, have three young children and reside in the DC metropolitan area.

For more information on the IFC, visit www.king.edu/faithandculture.