FIU commemorates Martin Luther King’s life and legacy during 22nd annual celebration


The Office of Multicultural Programs and Services will honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. with a month-long celebration inspired by King’s life and work.

The 22nd annual MLK Commemorative Celebration events will take place throughout January. More than 2,500 people are expected to participate.

One of the highlights will be the annual MLK Commemorative Breakfast, which will take place at 8 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 18 at the Graham Center Ballrooms at FIU’s Modesto A. Maidique Campus, located at 11200 SW 8th St. in Southwest Miami-Dade County. This year’s theme is “The Time is Always Right.” Tickets are still available.

The keynote speaker will be Mary Frances Berry, former chairwoman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Berry was appointed by President Carter and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a Commissioner on the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. After President Reagan fired her for criticizing his civil rights policies, she sued him in federal district court and won reinstatement. In 1993, President Clinton designated her chairwoman of the Commission. She was reappointed to a six-year term in January 1999. She resigned from the Commission on December 7, 2004. Berry also served as Assistant Secretary for Education in the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare during the Carter administration.

Berry was one of the founders of the Free South Africa Movement, which initiated protests at the South African Embassy in the successful struggle for democracy in South Africa. She was arrested and jailed several times.

Berry also was chancellor of the University of Colorado-Boulder and a provost at the University of Maryland-College Park. She is currently the Geraldine R. Segal Professor of American Social Thought and professor of history at the University of Pennsylvania.

For more on Berry, please click here.

Other FIU MLK Commemorative Celebration events include:

  • MLK@The Frost is a series of exhibits, featuring artwork that embodies and illustrates the realities and ideals of the civil rights movement, that will take place from Jan. 9-29 at The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, located on the Maidique Campus. The opening reception for the exhibits will take place on Thursday, Jan. 10 from 6-8 p.m. at the Frost. The exhibits and reception are free and open to the public.
  • On Saturday, Jan. 19, FIU students will participate in the MLK Day of Service. Approximately 400 students will work on a clean-up service project at Colonial Drive Park, 10750 SW 156 Terrace in Miami, and Zoo Miami, 12400 SW 152nd St. in Miami. The service project will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Students will depart at 8 a.m. from FIU’s Maidique Campus and 7:30 a.m. from the Biscayne Bay Campus, 3000 NE 151st St. in North Miami.  
  • On Monday, Jan. 21, FIU students, faculty, and staff will participate in the MLK Parade in Liberty City. The parade will take place along Northwest 54th Street, from Northwest 10th to 32nd Avenue starting at 11 a.m.
  • The Youth Forum and Peace Walk will take place in conjunction with local schools in Miami-Dade and Broward County on Wednesday, Jan. 23 at 10 a.m. in the Wolfe University Center Ballroom at FIU’s Biscayne Bay Campus. The keynote speaker will be Mindy “Mama Sol” Wilson, an emcee, hip hop artist, inspirational speaker, and spoken-word artist. Wilson, a breast cancer survivor, has opened for artists such as Destiny’s Child, Raphael Saadiq, Cee-lo, Run DMC, Method Man & Redman, N’dambi, Rhakim, and Chokolate, among others. She also has shared the stage with the legendary George Clinton, Kindred the Family Soul, and Mos Def. For more on Wilson, please click here.
  • The College of Engineering & Computing is hosting a reception, “MLK Evening with Engineers” on Tuesday, Jan. 15 from 6-8 p.m. in room 2300 of the FIU Engineering Campus, 10555 West Flagler St. This event is free and open to the public.
  • The MLK Lecture “Let My People Go: African Americans and the Hebrew Bible” by FIU Religious Studies Professor Tudor Parfitt will take place on Tuesday, Jan. 29 from 5 to 7 p.m. in Room 140 of the Graham Center; and The MLK Law Lecture “Membership and Immigration: Today’s Civil Rights Agenda” by FIU Law Professor Edilberto Roman will take place on Thursday, Jan. 31 from 5 to 7 p.m. in Room 150 of the Graham Center. The lectures are free and open to the public.
  • MLK Movie Night: “Get on the Bus” will take place on Friday, Jan. 25 from 6 to 9 p.m. in Room 100 of the Graham Center. The movie is free and open to the public.

For more on FIU’s MLK Commemorative Celebration, please click here.

For more event or ticket information, contact the Office of Multicultural Programs at 305-348-2436.