Reverend and gun control activist Sharon Washington Risher to deliver Carleton convocation
In her presentation, “Tattered Pieces: A Charleston Daughter Explores Loss, Faith and Forgiveness,” she will share her experience of losing loved ones to gun violence, race, racism and hate in America, as well as the path to forgiveness and an offering of hope for tomorrow.
Reverend and gun control activist Sharon Washington Risher will deliver Carleton College’s weekly convocation address on Friday, Feb. 12, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. over Zoom. In her presentation, “Tattered Pieces: A Charleston Daughter Explores Loss, Faith and Forgiveness,” she will share her experience of losing loved ones to gun violence, race, racism and hate in America, as well as the path to forgiveness and an offering of hope for tomorrow.
Rev. Risher was catapulted into the spotlight following the mass shooting at the Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina on June 17, 2015. Her mother Ethel Lee Lance was killed, along with eight others, including two cousins and a childhood friend. Since that time, Rev. Risher has spoken out about the nation’s gun laws and is one of the spokespersons for the grassroots advocacy group Everytown Survivor Network and Moms Demand Gun Sense in America. She has appeared on CNN, CBS, ABC’s Good Morning America, and other national news outlets. She has been interviewed by Time Magazine, Marie-Claire, Essence, Texas Monthly, Vogue, and Vox. She has also visited the White House and witnessed President Obama sign executive orders on gun reform.
Prior to her activism, Rev. Risher was a staff chaplain, trauma specialist, and served on several committees at Parkland Hospital of Dallas, TX, where she has been employed. Rev. Risher also served Rice Chapel AME Church as associate pastor for congregational care, where she preached and led the women’s ministries of the church until April 2015. In 2019, Rev. Risher authored her first book, titled, “For Such a Time as This: Hope and Forgiveness after the Charleston Massacre.”
Rev. Risher received her BA from Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, NC, and her MDiv from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Austin, TX.
Convocation is sponsored by Carleton College Events. For more information, including disability accommodations, call (507) 222-4308.