North Carolina Senator and candidate for Congress Malcolm Graham spoke to interested STA students in the M&A Building auditorium April 14. Graham was invited by the Give Seven Days organization, an organization started by the family of Terri Lamanno, a victim of the 2014 shooting at the Village Shalom Jewish retirement community. After reaching out to STA to confirm the school’s interest in inviting such a speaker, Give Seven Days came to STA with Graham to share their organization and their message of mitigating hateful and immature behavior by promoting diversity and encouraging kindness.

Echoing the Village Shalom shooting hate crime, Graham’s sister, Cynthia Graham, was killed in the June 2015 shooting at the historically black Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, NC, along with eight others shot and killed during Bible study.

Students from Human Dignity Club hosted the Senator, and students currently enrolled in the Social Concerns course were required to attend the event, as Graham’s information echoes important components of the course’s teachings.

Following the activity period where the entire school was invited to attend, Graham held a question and answer portion specifically for Social Concerns students to learn more about racism, hate crimes, Graham’s experiences and the shooting event.

Graham, speaking out against racism in the United States and globally, wanted to leave STA students with a strong message.

“Even when things don’t affect you directly, you gotta say something, and then you gotta do something,” Graham said, recapping his objectives along with the Give Seven Days organization’s objectives.

“People in Kansas City can tell their story and this week, they’re telling it,” Graham said about Give Seven Days. “Which story will you tell? How impactful will you be?”