SC Democratic Party Chair and USCA Alumna to speak at MLK Community Celebration

The University of South Carolina Aiken, in partnership with Aiken Technical College, will host the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration on Sunday, January 26.

The event is scheduled to be held at the Convocation Center, featuring a service fair at 2:30 p.m. followed by the ceremony at 3 p.m.

Christale Spain, who is the first black woman to chair the South Carolina Democratic Party, will serve as the keynote speaker.

Spain is a South Carolina native and a USCA and Columbia College graduate. While as an undergrad, she was a premier USCA Women’s Basketball player, leading the team in rebounds and points. She is the only player in the university’s history, male or female, to have over 1,000 career points and rebounds. 

She got involved with the state party as a volunteer in 2012, working her way up to Executive Director. Throughout her career, she has worked under the past three SCDP Chairs.

Spain has extensive experience in campaign management, having worked at a senior level for presidential campaigns, including Senator Bernie Sanders in 2016 and Senator Cory Booker in 2020. 

Following that, she led the South Carolina Democratic Party's Coordinated Campaign for Jaime Harrison's historic 2020 U.S. Senate race. Spain also served as the Senior Advisor for Black Engagement at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the landmark 2022 midterm elections. 

Spain is a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., and is the founding chair of the SCDP Black Women’s Caucus.

The MLK Community Celebration will also recognize recipients of the Human and Civil Rights Champion Awards and winners of the MLK Poster and Essay Contests, featuring local K-12 students.