Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation
Featuring keynote speaker Dr. Ibram X. Kendi, a leading antiracist scholar, historian, author and founding director of the Howard Institute for Advanced Study.
Join CU Boulder for a free event open to students, staff, faculty and local community members to commemorate one of the country’s most influential civil rights leaders: the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Imagining Tomorrow
This year’s theme –“Imagining Tomorrow: Afro-Futurist Visions of Community, Creativity and Collective Care”– emerges from Dr. King’s expansive vision of justice and community interconnectedness. Embracing Afro-Futurist frameworks, critical theories, and ancestral rhythms, the convocation will explore creative expressions of justice, community wellness and intergenerational care. Participants will engage in imaginative practices rooted in historical awareness and contemporary relevance, envisioning just futures for diverse communities at CU Boulder and beyond.
Convocation Keynote
“Beyond Dreams: King’s Radical Vision and Afro-Futurist Futures”
Thursday, Jan. 15
6 to 7:30 p.m.
Macky Auditorium
Advance registration is recommended. On-site registration will be limited.
In a moderated discussion setting, the keynote will examine Dr. King’s lesser-explored writings on economic justice, global solidarity and radical imagination, and will connect these concepts to contemporary Afro-Futurist visions of equitable, sustainable communities.
Keynote Speaker
Photo by Stephen Voss
Dr. Ibram X. Kendi is the Director of the Howard Թ Institute for Advanced Study. He is an acclaimed historian whose powerful insights are reshaping our understanding of racism and anti-racism. Through a compelling blend of scholarship and storytelling, Dr. Kendi invites readers and audiences to engage in a meaningful dialogue about the history of oppressive systems and how they have shaped societies for generations.
Dr. Kendi is the author of many highly acclaimed books including Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, making him the youngest ever winner of that award.Stamped from the Beginning is a monumental work that traces the development and dissemination of racist ideologies throughout American history. The book offers a comprehensive understanding of the complex interplay between racist ideas, power dynamics, and resistance movements. The book was made into a Netflix documentary that was shortlisted for an Academy Award and an Emmy Award.
Dr. Kendi also authored the #1 New York Times bestsellersHow to Be an Antiracist, Antiracist Baby, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, co-authored by Jason Reynolds. Alongside the award-winning historian Dr. Keisha N. Blain, Dr. Kendi editedFour Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019.Four Hundred Souls is a choral history of African Americans covering four hundred years in the voices of ninety writers. His bestselling monograph,How to Raise an Antiracist, combines vital research with a compelling personal narrative of his own journey as a parent. He created a work that is as research-based as it is relatable to real-world experience. Dr. Kendi’s latest release,Malcolm Lives!: The Official Biography of Malcolm X for Young Readers (Macmillan), was an instant New York Times bestseller.
In 2021, Dr. Kendi was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as the ‘Genius Grant.’ He is also a contributing writer at The Atlantic and a CBS News racial justice contributor. Dr. Kendi has published numerous essays in periodicals, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, The Huffington Post, and The Root. The Black Campus Movement, his first book on Black student activism on college campuses in the late 1960s and early 1970s, won the W.E.B. Du Bois Book Prize.
He has received research fellowships, grants, and visiting appointments from a variety of universities, foundations, professional associations, and libraries, including the American Historical Association, Library of Congress, National Academy of Education, Lyndon B. Johnson Library & Museum, Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis, Brown Թ, Princeton Թ, Duke Թ, Թ of Chicago, and UCLA. Previously, he was the Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities at Boston Թ and the founding director of the BU Center for Antiracist Research.
Recently, Dr. Kendi was elected to the prestigious Society of American Historians and named a 2021 Young Global Leader, the World Economic Forum’s annual class of the most promising leaders around the globe under the age of 40.
Event Sponsors
This event is sponsored by theCenter for African and African American Studies, the Center for Cultural Connections and Community and the .
Parking
Macky Auditorium is at the intersection of 17th Street and Թ Avenue on the CU Boulder campus. To chart driving directions, use the address “1595 Pleasant St.”
Paid parking is available at Euclid Parking Garage and Folsom Garage. Accessible parking is available in lot 380, just east of Macky. Parking is limited and we encourage use of public transit and carpools. See theinteractive campus map for more options.
Security
All guests must pass through security screening to enter the event venue. There is a clear bag policy for this event. To request accessibility accommodations, please email lspevents@colorado.edu.
MLK Day Lib Guide
Թ Libraries has produced designed for anyone interested in learning more about the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the rich and diverse history of the U.S. civil rights movement.
Campus Resources
- Center for African and African American Studies
- Center for Cultural Connections and Community
- CU Boulder Student engagement opportunities
- CU Boulder Employee Affinity Groups