Booker to be featured guest for Rogers Peace and Social Justice Series

Former Kentucky legislator and government official Charles Booker will be the featured speaker for Hanover College’s Bill and June Rogers Peace and Social Justice Speakers Series. Booker will visit campus Thursday, Feb. 12, culminating with a keynote address and book signing.

Reserve your seat for the keynote! (reservations due by Jan. 31)

Booker has dedicated his life to public service. He served as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2019-21, representing parts of the Greater Louisville area. While in office, he championed human rights, voting rights, racial justice, criminal justice and gun reform, lower prescription drug prices and more.

In 2020, Booker became the first Black Kentuckian to earn a major party nomination for U.S. Senate. Focusing on racial justice and economic inequality, he ran for Sen. Mitch McConnell’s seat, eventually losing in the Democratic primary to Amy McGrath. He targeted the Bluegrass State’s second Senate seat in 2022, winning the Democratic primary before losing to incumbent Sen. Rand Paul in the general election.

Published in 2022, Booker’s memoir, “From the Hood to the Holler,” recounts his campaign for Senate and rise to national prominence. The book shares his journey from growing up in one of Kentucky’s poorest areas to later building partnerships across the urban, rural and racial divides as a legislator and government official.

Booker’s keynote address, “From the Hood to the Holler: A Playbook for Building Coalitions and Fighting for Justice,” will begin at 7 p.m. in the Horner Health and Recreation Center, room 102. The address, followed by a question-and-answer session and book signing, is open to the public, free of charge.

In September, Booker stepped away after two years as the Kentucky state director of the Office of Faith-Based Initiatives and Community Involvement under Gov. Andy Beshear. Through his organization, Hood to the Holler, he continues to promote voting rights and racial justice, train leaders and facilitate community empowerment.

Booker graduated from the University of Louisville Brandeis School of Law. He previously worked as an analyst for the Legislative Research Commission and, later, served as director of administrative services in the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife.