Hopkinsville, KY – Youth will take center stage as Hopkinsville Community College (HCC) and the HCC Foundation commemorate the 70th birthday of native bell hooks, Christian County’s own Gloria Jean Watkins.
The HCC Foundation is hosting a luncheon and unveiling of the new feature commemorating the life and work of bell hooks on Sunday, September 25th, beginning at 1:30pm in the Emerging Technologies Building, Anderson Hall.
She is a Hopkinsville High School cheerleader, member of the National Honor Society, in the gifted and talented academic program, and has played the trumpet in the band. She is also self-taught on a variety of stringed instruments. Amira is the daughter of Brittany and Sheldon Trotter and has three younger brothers.
Trotter is also part of the HCC’s Upward Bound program, which is part of the Federal TRIO Programs that are designed to identify and provide services for first generation students to help increase academic preparation, motivation, and social skills necessary to enter, complete and succeed in a secondary education program.
“We are happy to have Amira as a member of our program,” stated HCC Director of TRIO Programs Gregory Marable.
The keynote speaker for the luncheon is the Rev. Donavan Pinner, a 2016 graduate of Hopkinsville High School where he was class president. Pinner is a 2020 graduate of Morehouse College and served from 2018 until his graduation as a program facilitator for the Atlanta Public Schools.
He was a special education teacher in Christian County Public Schools prior to his acceptance and enrollment at Princeton Theological Seminary. Pinner was also selected in a national competition in August 2020 as the national All-America City Youth Leadership award winner.
A licensed and ordained minister, he has served as a minister at Virginia Street Baptist Church in Hopkinsville since 2013, where he preached his first sermon at age 16, and is presently serving First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens in Somerset, New Jersey. He has also served on the Prichard Committee, an independent, nonpartisan, citizen-led organization working to improve education in Kentucky — early childhood through postsecondary — to achieve a better quality of life for all Kentuckians.
Pinner is the youngest person ever elected to the Hopkinsville Community College Foundation, Inc. Board of Directors. A self-described advocate and educator, Pinner has spoken to numerous organizations, churches, community summits, unity rallies and social justice forums.
“We are excited to welcome Donavan home to Hopkinsville as we commemorate the birthday of the legendary bell hooks and unveil the feature being added to Round Table Literary Park and look forward to hearing his thoughts on this moment in the history of our community and college,” shared Executive Director of the HCC Foundation & HCC Chief Institutional Advancement Officer Yvette Eastham.
The event will conclude at historic Round Table Literary Park with the unveiling of the aspirational feature being added to honor the life and legacy of bell hooks. Averi Williams, an eight-year-old third grader at Indian Hills, and the great, great niece of bell hooks will be one of the final speakers.
“To focus on aspiration and possibilities and how those are turned into reality, our responsibility to future generations to help them become the best version of themselves – this is our hope as we add representation to our beloved Round Table Literary Park,” offered HCC President and CEO Dr. Alissa Young.
A limited number of tickets for the luncheon/unveiling event are available on the eventbrite website at /www.eventbrite.com/e/bell-hooks-round-table-park-luncheon-and-feature-reveal-tickets-410000962917?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=escb
The HCC Foundation is also still receiving donations for Round Table Literary Park improvements and the commemorative feature. To donate, call 270.707.3731 or go to https://systemoffice.kctcs.edu/giving/give-now.aspx?college=hopkinsville&fund=bell+hooks+literary+park&utm_source=direct+link&utm_medium=giving&utm_campaign=Literary+Park.
About the Hopkinsville Community College
For many Pennyrile Kentucky region and Fort Campbell residents, higher education begins at Hopkinsville Community College (HCC).
The college serves thousands of area residents each year as a comprehensive regional learning center providing academic and technical associate degrees; diploma and certificate programs in occupational fields; pre-baccalaureate education; adult, continuing and developmental education; customized training for business and industry; and distance learning. As part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, HCC is a critical component to transforming the region’s economy by providing citizens with the education and training needed for high growth, high wage careers.
For more information, visit Hopkinsville.kctcs.edu.
