FIU’s Office of Social Justice and Inclusion will host the 30th annual—and first virtual—Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Celebration. The university’s signature event honors King’s lifelong dedication to equality, social justice, and peace.
Centered on the theme United for Equity: The Power of Collective Action, the 2021 celebration will take place on Thursday, Jan. 14 at 10 a.m., featuring Bernice A. King, minister, attorney and daughter of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as the keynote speaker.
“We are beyond honored to have Dr. Bernice King join us as this year’s keynote speaker,” said Elizabeth Bejar, senior vice president for Academic and Student Affairs. “For the past 30 years, FIU has coordinated annual programming, and educational and service opportunities which promote equality, social justice, and peace. We take pride in offering our students numerous platforms to inspire them to build a better world for all of us.”
Bernice King is a global thought leader, orator, peace advocate and CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change (The King Center), which was founded in 1968 by her mother, Coretta Scott King.
King continues her efforts to advance her parents’ legacy of Kingian Nonviolence, which King rebranded as Nonviolence365️, through her work at The King Center educating youth and adults about the nonviolent principles modeled by her parents.
Other FIU MLK commemorative celebration events include:
- MLK Day of Service: On Saturday, Jan. 16 at 9:30 a.m. students will participate in virtual initiatives as well as on-campus projects at FIU’s main campus, 11200 SW 8th St. in Miami. Student activities will include beautification projects at FIU’s nature preserve, collecting food donations and helping with fundraising efforts for Lotus House, and participating in virtual projects supporting the Junior Achievement of Miami and Humane Society of Greater Miami.
- MLK @ The Frost Art Museum FIU Exhibit: From Jan. 21 to April 16 the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum will feature an exhibition titled Transfiguration: A Black Speculative Vision of Freedom. Since the debut of Marvel’s Black Panther (2018), the focus on Afrofuturism in the United States has skyrocketed. Afrofuturism embraces utopic spaces where equality is valued and realized. Curated by Julian C. Chambliss, Transfiguration spotlights how visual narrative at the heart of Afrofuturist practice is part of a longer Black speculative tradition. This exhibition takes up the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s observation that Black visions of freedom strive for a better future, as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Exhibition Series, which addresses issues of race, diversity, social justice, civil rights, and humanity to serve as a catalyst for dialogue and to enrich the community with new perspectives.