As Dr. Martin Luther King Day approaches this year, colleges and universities across the nation are gearing up once again to celebrate and honor the life and legacy of the civil rights leader,
Martin Luther King Jr. International ChapelMorehouse College
With programming ranging from panels and performances to service in the community – and much more in between – many institutions are planning to commemorate the occasion for longer than just the one day itself. The MLK Day programming schedules for several schools span multiple days full of various events, recognizing the numerous facets and aspects of the Civil Rights Movement.
Penn State, for instance, has events lined up for a number of its campuses. For many of them, the school has scheduled a “day of service,” wherein students, faculty, and staff can volunteer in their community. This is in addition to several marches and film screenings, including the online screening of several short films around the theme of waste and labor.
“King recognized that the work of the civil rights movement increasingly needed to be connected to the work of the labor movement — since without safe, well-paying, meaningful work all other human rights are in jeopardy,” according to the website. “Sixty years later, sanitation workers and those who work with waste and recycling remain vulnerable to unsafe and low-paying work, despite their integral role in keeping society running.”
Additionally, the school’s Forum on Black Affairs (FOBA) will host the 49th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Banquet on Jan. 15. The banquet – open to the public but tickets are first-come, first-served – will applaud the achievements of students and the community.
At the event, the 2024 Forum of Black Affairs Humanitarian Award will be given to “a member of the community who has excelled or has lived the legacy of truth and justice and put forth efforts around making sure community is built and things of that nature,” said banquet chair Stephanie Preston, associate dean for graduate educational equity at Penn State.
Festivities will also take place at Wayne State University this year, where event organizers are focusing on arts, culture, and music of the Civil Rights Movement.
