Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration: Justice Indivisible: Fighting Racism, Greed, and War

Join us in honoring the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday, January 19, 2026 at noon EST. The event will be held at the GSU Metcalf Hall, 775 Commonwealth Ave, Boston MA 02215. Our program will celebrate Dr. King and highlight his written and spoken work.

This celebration is hosted by Boston University’s Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground and the City of Boston. We are grateful for the support and sponsorship of our co-hosts BU Libraries, BU African American & Black Diaspora Studies, and Boston University Government & Community Affairs.

This year’s theme, “Justice Indivisible: Fighting Racism, Greed, and War,” takes inspiration from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1967 speech, “ Three Evils of Society.” In that speech, King notes “racism, poverty, and militarism” as “three evils” plaguing the United States.

In line with that theme, our keynote speaker is Dr. Eve L. Ewing, a writer, scholar, and cultural organizer from Chicago. An associate professor in the Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity at the University of Chicago, she is the award-winning author of five books. Her most recent book is Original Sins: The (Mis)education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism, an instant New York Times and USA Today bestseller. Ewing has also written several projects for Marvel Comics, most notably the Ironheart and Black Panther series, and she is currently telling mutant stories at the helm of Exceptional X-Men.

In addition, we welcome you to join a special tour of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Reading Room in the Mugar Memorial Library after the celebration.

The Boston University Libraries proudly holds an archival collection of Dr. King’s manuscripts, notebooks, correspondence, printed material, financial and legal papers, photographs, and other items dating from 1947 to 1964.

Tours begin at 2 pm and run approximately every 20 minutes until 3:30 pm. Registration is required and space is limited. Register on Eventbrite HERE:

Once registered for a tour, meet at the library entrance on the first floor of the George Sherman Union. To view Dr. King’s papers or to visit the reading room at another time, email archives@bu.edu or visit bu.edu/library/gotlieb-center for more information.

If you are unable to attend the celebration in person, a live stream of the event will start below on January 19, at noon.

Planned Program

Event and Theme Introduction:

Nicholaus Bates

Director of Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground

Remarks from Boston University

Melissa Gilliam

President, Boston University

Readings

Nayeli Quiles (CAS ’26)

Major: Political Science

Thomas Menino Scholar

Boston Latin School ‘22

Remarks from City of Boston

Readings

Ramatoulaye Bangura (SAR’26)

Major: Health Science

John D. O’Bryant ‘22

Keynote

Dr. Eve L. Ewing

Keynote Conversation

Dr. Paula Austin, BU Associate Professor of African American And Black Diaspora Studies and History, and Dr. Eve L. Ewing

Closing Remarks

Nicholaus Bates

Musical Arrangement

ZURI