MLK Day

Khalil Ekulona, host of the Nashville Public Radio program This Is Nashville, will be the keynote speaker for Vanderbilt University’s 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemoration. Ekulona will address the Vanderbilt community on Monday, Jan. 15, at 1:30 p.m. Read More

Byron Pitts, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, author and co-host of ABC’s Nightline, warned against the dangers of becoming indifferent to helping others and challenged members of the Vanderbilt community to see their potential to change the world through service when he delivered the university’s 2023 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Series keynote address on Monday evening. Read More

The annual MLK Joint Day of Service brings together hundreds of student volunteers from Nashville-area colleges and universities to continue the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through service. This year's event will be on Saturday, April 2, beginning at 10 a.m. at Tennessee State University's Gentry Center. Following the opening program, volunteers will go to different service sites. Lunch will be provided. Read More

Martha A. Dawson, president of the National Black Nurses Association, will present the 21st annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Lecture on Monday, Jan. 17, from noon to 1 p.m. CT. Co-sponsored by the Vanderbilt School of Nursing and Vanderbilt School of Medicine, this year’s MLK Day lecture will be held virtually via Zoom. Read More

Renowned poet, professor and author Nikky Finney will deliver a keynote address as part of Vanderbilt University’s 2022 commemoration honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Finney is scheduled to speak Jan. 17 as part of a virtual program that will begin with a vigil and include remarks by Chancellor Daniel Diermeier. Read More

Heard Libraries staff contributed to and improved the quality of Wikipedia information on Nashville-area social justice organizations and activists when they took part in a voluntary edit-a-thon on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Read More

A series of virtual events for the Vanderbilt community will celebrate the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, Jan. 18. Beginning this year, MLK Day is a paid staff holiday, aligning with VU’s efforts to strengthen equity, diversity and inclusion. Read More

David A. Acosta, the chief diversity and inclusion officer for the American Association of Medical Colleges, will deliver the Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Celebration lecture co-sponsored by the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing on Monday, Jan. 18. Read More

Ethiopian American novelist Dinaw Mengestu, known for his powerful and personal depictions of the immigrant experience and perspectives on the American dream, will be the keynote speaker for Vanderbilt University’s 2021 Martin Luther King Jr. Day commemorative event on Monday, Jan. 18. Read More

David A. Acosta, chief diversity and inclusion officer of the Association of American Medical Colleges, will deliver Vanderbilt University Medical Center's Martin Luther King Jr. Day lecture at noon on Jan. 18. His talk, “Making 'Good Trouble' in 2021: Time for Academic Medicine to Boldly Call for Racial Justice,” will be delivered virtually. Read More

The Vanderbilt Evolutionary Studies Initiative will host award-winning British science journalist and author Angela Saini for a virtual discussion of her best-selling book, "Superior: The Return of Race Science," on Wednesday, Jan. 13, at 3:10 p.m. CT.  Read More

Starting in 2021, Vanderbilt University will recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a paid staff holiday. The move aligns with efforts to strengthen equity, diversity and inclusion on campus. Read More

Vanderbilt students, faculty, staff and postdoctoral fellows honored the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. through programs, lectures, interactive teach-ins, community service projects and more as part of the university’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Series. Read More

Vanderbilt's MLK Commemorative Series, which honors the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., continues today with the annual MLK Day march, convocation and campus teach-ins. Read More

In her latest "Open Mind" column, Interim Chancellor and Provost Susan R. Wente reflects on the words carved into the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C.: “Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.” Read More

The 2019-20 Chancellor’s Lecture Series returns this spring with a stellar lineup of accomplished thought leaders—including a renowned journalist, an award-winning actress and activist, and prominent international experts—all of whom are driving conversations on global issues. Read More

The MLK Commemorative Series kickoff begins at noon today at the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center. Events continue through Monday, with the Joint Day of Service on Saturday, Jan. 18, the MLK keynote event at Langford Auditorium featuring Janelle Monáe and Yusef Salaam on Sunday, Jan. 19, and the MLK Day march, convocation and teach-ins on Monday, Jan. 20. Read More

The annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award will be presented on Monday, Jan. 20, to a faculty or staff member in the School of Medicine, School of Nursing or Vanderbilt University Medical Center who emulates the principles of King through his or her work. Read More

Phyllis Sharps, the Elsie M. Lawler Endowed Chair and associate dean for community programs and initiatives at Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, will discuss “A Dream for Excellence in Research, Practice and Education” on Monday, Jan. 20, as part of the 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Series. Read More

Janelle Monáe, a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, performer, producer and actor, and Yusef Salaam, one of the Exonerated Five, formerly known as the Central Park Five, will speak at Vanderbilt University on Jan. 19 as the featured panelists for the 2020 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Series keynote event in Langford Auditorium. Read More