Congresswoman Sarah McBride Honors SDARJ Founder Charlotte King on the House Floor

In this floor speech in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congresswoman Sarah McBride (D-DE) recognizes Charlotte King, founder of the Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice (SDARJ), as the Alliance marks its 10th anniversary.

McBride traces King’s life as a barrier breaker. In the 1950s she was one of the “Magnificent Seven,” a group of seven Black students who enrolled at St. John’s University during the civil rights movement. After moving to Lewes in 2000, King volunteered with the League of Women Voters and saw how little Black representation there was in Sussex County. That realization led her to found SDARJ in 2015.

In her eight years leading the Alliance, King built an organization that hosts town halls with civic leaders and police chiefs, offers educational seminars, and helped launch Black Voices magazine and the African American Film Festival. McBride also notes King’s recent honors: induction into the Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame, a Mitchell Award from the Delaware Business Times, and recognition as one of Delaware’s most influential people.

Watch the full two-and-a-half-minute tribute below.