Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address

“History converged in a way that called Dr. King forward, and he answered the call,” said Princeton University professor Eddie Glaude Jr., who delivered the University of Rochester’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address. “That can happen with anybody. We don’t need another Martin Luther King. We need every day ordinary people. We are the leaders we’ve been looking for.” (University of Rochester photo / Matt Wittmeyer)

Members of the University of Rochester community lend their voices to the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., reflecting the power of his message more than fifty years after his death.

During this year's Martin Luther King Jr. Day Commemorative Address, political commentator Symone Sanders focused on Dr. King's work after the civil rights movement of 1965, and emphasized his lifelong mission of challenging the status quo. "For young people particularly on college campuses," she said, "I like to remind them that you are some of the most powerful people in the world."

Four-time Emmy Award-winner and pioneer of Latino broadcasting Maria Hinojosa says “it’s pretty surreal” to be delivering the University's MLK Commemorative Address this week. She calls Martin Luther King Jr., her “first American hero, the first person who made me believe I had a voice in this country.”

In this essay, Sasha Eloi-Evans ’05, ’17 (W), the academic programming coordinator for the Office of Minority Student Affairs and a lecturer in the Department of Linguistics, reflects on diversity in higher education in the nearly 50 years since Martin Luther King Jr.’s death.

The four-time Emmy winner and host of National Public Radio’s Latino USA and PBS’s America By The Numbers will deliver the University’s 2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address on Friday, January 19.

Joy DeGruy (far right), assistant professor at Oregon State University and a self-described ambassador for healing, met with student leaders at Douglass Leadership House before delivering the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address Friday evening. She answered questions and talked about her background, her experiences as a teacher, and about fighting injustice. “Choose your battles,” she told students. “But always be who you are.” (University photo / J. Adam Fenster)

Author Joy DeGruy, who will deliver this year’s Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address, is the latest in a long line of exceptional luminaries in the civil rights field to speak at…

Events across the University mark Monday's MLK celebrations, and renowned author, educator, and activist Joy DeGruy will deliver the University’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address on Friday, January 27.

Marc Morial, president of the National Urban League and former mayor of New Orleans, will deliver the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Address. The event has been rescheduled and will now be held on Monday, February 29.