cause

We bring people together with a common purpose and with no pre-set agenda.

Born out of honor for the victims of the 2015 Mother Emanuel AME Church shooting, The Charleston Forum is an open and honest discussion on race and the ways in which our community can move forward together.

40 +

Our annual forum has over forty speakers from across the country

What we do

Creating a Space for Conversation

Each year, the Forum will address topics involving Charleston’s racially tangled history and its present day effects and explore proposed solutions. The topics change, but one thing remains the same – we will continue to have conversations that lead to a more unified tomorrow.

Facilitating Movement towards Growth

The goal of The Charleston Forum is to facilitate movement from our shared moment following the Mother Emanuel massacre. The Committee seeks to harness our community’s realization of the need for and power of unity and to leverage the nation’s identity with Charleston. We recognize that we will not overcome racial barriers without open discussion to share what behaviors and institutions are perceived as problems by some, why they are, and how we might respond so that those social issues can be deprived of their divisiveness. We therefore seek to create a forum that excites national interest in open discussion, promotes understanding of different views, and shares ideas for progress.

Honoring Leaders of Unity

The Charleston Forum is a community project designed to promote productive discussions on issues of race. Accordingly, the speakers involved have different backgrounds and perspectives and collectively can better inspire change, unity and progress in our community, State, and Nation.