Indiana University is hosting a series of events in celebration of activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
They will have a virtual conference Monday, as well as many other events throughout the week.
The day long virtual event is called “Where Do We Go From Here: Social Justice Conference.” It will have multiple sessions that will address social justice, equality and how to build a world more reflective of Dr. King’s dream.
The conference is hosted by IU’s Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs and the Madam Walker Legacy Center.
They will have different scholars speaking at different sessions and diversity and inclusion champion awards.
There will also be a session with activist Angela Davis and Alicia Garza called “A Call to Action: Then and Now.”
Davis will bring a perspective from earlier generations and Garza, who is credited as a co-creator of the Black Lives Matter movement, will bring a more current one.
“From what we know this is the first time these two legendary activists have been in the room together and actually have a dialogue together in front of an audience to really talk about what motivated them, some of the issues that they dealt with going through the level of activism that they were able to activate and mobilize thousands and millions of people around. And the issues still here today that we’re still going through,” said Joyce Rogers, the interim executive vice president for development at Indiana University Foundation and the chair of the Madame Walker Legacy Center Board.
The two will discuss the work they’ve done across about five decades.
“There’s rarely any real first in history. We re-live and repeat a lot of things. So, I for one am very interested in what these two scholars will have to say about what we’re seeing from what happened last week in regards to the work that they’re doing,” said Rogers.
Following the event will be a community conversation where local leaders will talk about what the activist discussed and how it applies locally. That will feature the Concerned Clergy, students and scholars from the Vice President’s Office for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs.
Rogers says these conversations and events are even more relevant now with all the recent events we’ve been seeing.
“I really want to stress what we all knew and loved about Martin Luther King and that he spoke about peace. Peaceful protest, love, that was Martin Luther King. I really want to hear how do we take his legacy around achieving all of these things that we know. We have a long way to go for equity and inclusion, but how do we do that in a peaceful way in today’s climate.”
If you’re interested in signing up for any of these events you can click here to learn more. You can find the keynote event with Davis and Garza here.
