The Danforth Campus 38th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration will take place on Monday, January 20, 2025, from 2-3:30 p.m. in Graham Chapel. The commemoration theme is “Responsibility,” inspired by the quote: “Ultimately individual responsibility lies not in the external situation but in the internal response.” – Martin Luther King, Jr., from his sermon, “Accepting Responsibility for Your Actions” delivered in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 26, 1953.

Harvey Fields, Ph.D., Founding Dean and Assistant Professor of Chemistry, College of STEM at Harris-Stowe State University, will deliver the keynote address.

Additional speakers include Chancellor Andrew D. Martin, Ph.D.; Wilmetta Toliver-Diallo, Ph.D., Senior Assistant Dean of Advising, College of Arts & Sciences and Lecturer in the African and African-American Studies Department; and the Reverend Callista Isabelle, Director for Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life.

The program will feature presentations of the “Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Service Award” and the “Rosa L. Parks Award for Meritorious Service to the Community.”

Student performances will showcase Black Anthology, the Unending Praise Gospel Acapella Choir and the Washington University Concert Choir. Hussein Amuri, President of the Student Union (SU), and Spencer Snipe, Vice President of the Association of Black Students (ABS), will serve as co-hosts.

The program is free and open to the public. Livestream is available here for those unable to attend in person.

The commemoration is organized by the Washington University Martin Luther King Jr. Commemoration Committee (Danforth Campus):

Adam Brok (Campus Life)
Jacqueline Carter (Olin Business School)
Rudolph Clay Jr. (University Libraries)
Phyllis Jackson (Campus Life-Event Management)
Ashley June Moore (Arts & Sciences)