Stedman Graham to speak during annual MLK Celebration

Stedman Graham

Businessman and educator Stedman Graham will be the keynote speaker during Randolph College’s annual celebration honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. at 5 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 26. 

The event, which will be held in Smith Hall Theatre, is free and open to the public. It will be followed by a book signing in the Alice Ashley Jack Room. 

Graham, chairman and CEO of the management and marketing consulting firm S. Graham and Associates, is the author of 12 books, including two New York Times bestsellers and one Wall Street Journal bestseller. 

“It will be a privilege to have Stedman Graham on campus to share his thoughts about leadership, community, and service,” said President Sue Ott Rowlands. 

As a businessman, educator, and speaker, he lectures and conducts training programs for corporations and educational organizations worldwide on the topic of “Identity Leadership,” a message based on the philosophy that one cannot lead anyone else until you first lead yourself.

“You cannot drink from an empty cup, and you cannot give what you do not have,” Graham said during a 2024 Commencement speech at Ball State University. “It’s difficult to practice self-leadership unless you know who you are.”

A former adjunct professor at the Northwestern Kellogg School of Business, he holds a bachelor’s degree in social work from Hardin-Simmons University, a master’s degree in education from Ball State, and he has also been awarded three honorary doctorates. 

In addition, he served in the United States Army and played professional basketball in the European League.

Graham has delivered programs in the Netherlands, Germany, China, Canada, the UK, Bermuda, and South Africa, and his clients include Gulfstream, Aerospace, Microsoft, Deloitte, Wells Fargo, Lenovo, General Dynamics, and the U.S. Department of Labor and Education. 

He is also co-founder of the Community Alliance for Youth Success, an organization that helps young people transition into adulthood with “purpose, empathy, and tools to navigate life’s challenges.”