At a press conference this afternoon, Mayor John Tecklenburg announced that Reverend Kylon Middleton, Pastor of Mount Zion AME Church, will serve as the new Charleston Illumination Project leader, continuing the work of Margaret Seidler, who has held the position since the Project’s inception.
The Charleston Illumination Project began in response to the June 2015 shooting at Mother Emanuel AME Church and engages community members in order to strengthen citizen and police relationships grounded in trust and legitimacy.
The Illumination Project has since been studied by communities across the country, and serves as a national model for building and maintaining positive citizen and police relationships. Having recently been appointed to the Advisory Board for the National Law Enforcement Museum in Washington D.C., set to open in October, Reverend Middleton will partner with the museum to continue to share the Project’s strategies and findings throughout the nation.
Mayor Tecklenburg said, “I am incredibly grateful to Margaret Seidler for her passion and dedication to this project over the past few years. Her efforts have been integral to the Illumination Project’s success, and I am confident that Reverend Middleton, a Charleston native and active member of our community, will continue to carry out that legacy in the years to come.”