MLK Commemoration
2021 MLK Celebration, Wednesday Jan 27
MLK Celebration: Student Activism Then & Now
Location: Virtual, https://racialequity.uncg.edu/2021-joint-mlk-celebration/
*Free and open to the public
Time: 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
UNC Greensboro, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and Guilford College are teaming up to present the 9th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration.
This year’s theme is “Student Activism: Then and Now.” The event will feature a panel of student activists from all three institutions.
Edmond Gayton from UNCG, Arthur Claiborne from N.C. A&T, and Mariam Sheriff from Guilford College will share their experiences with activism and how their respective institutions and campus leaders can help facilitate and support their work. LaTonya Wiley, senior interpreter at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, will serve as moderator for the panel.
In addition to the panel discussion, the program will include recorded spoken word performances by students from each campus: Nyazjah Spruel from UNCG, Damien Bell from N.C. A&T, and Erin Jeffers from Guilford College.
The annual event is typically held in person, on campus each year. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the event will be held online, and changes have been made to the program to better accommodate a virtual environment.
For more accommodation requests or further information, please contact the UNCG Office of Intercultural Engagement at 336-334-5090.
Official Co-Sponsors
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Office of Intercultural Engagement
Housing and Residence Life
Division of Student Affairs
North Carolina A&T State University
The MLK Commemorative Observance Committee
The Division of Student Affairs
Multicultural Student Center
Collegiate Chapter of NAACP at NC A&T
Men on the Move
Memorial Student Union
Student Activities Office
Student Development
Guilford College
Intercultural Engagement Center
Listing of past Keynote Speakers and MLK Service Award Winners
| YEAR | KEYNOTE SPEAKER | SERVICE AWARD WINNER |
| 2020 | Natalie Warne | |
| 2019 | Ilyasah Shabazz | |
| 2018 | Payton Head | Payton McGarry |
| 2017 | DeRay Mckesson | Sherrill Roland |
| 2016 | Julianne Malveaux | Kaziah Miller |
| 2015 | Sonia Sanchez | Kaziah Miller |
| 2014 | Jeff Johnson | Kelton Hollister (Student) |
| 2013 | Dick Gregory | Aisha Crawford (Student) |
| 2012 | Elaine Brown | Parker Hurley (Student) |
| 2011 | Dr. Terrence Roberts | Kent L. Singletary (Student) |
| 2010 | Dr. Mae Jemison | Zimuzor Ugochukwu (Student) |
| 2009 | Rev. Al Sharpton | Wanda Torain (Undergraduate Admissions) |
| 2008 | Bernice A. King | Brandon Nnodi (Student) |
| 2007 | Dr. Joseph Lowery, civil rights activist | Dr. Spoma Jovanovic (Communication Studies) |
| 2006 | Angela Davis, Black Panther, UC Berkeley, etc. | Rhonda Robinson (Student) |
| 2005 | Julian Bond, NAACP Chairman, former Georgia senator | Kathleen Casey (Educational Leadership & Cultural Foundations) |
| 2004 | Franklin McCain, one of Greensboro Four | Dauvell Evans (Student) |
| 2003 | Rev. Samuel “Billy” Kyles, Pastor, Monumental Baptist Church, Memphis; was with MLK Jr. during last hour | Patricia J. Bowden (Religious Studies) |
| 2002 | Dr. Jocelyn Elders, first African American woman to be US Surgeon General | Joette Nicole McLaurin (Student) |
| 2001 | Herman Boone, former football coach; inspiration for “Remember the Titans” | Erma Totten (Service Worker, Cone Residence Hall) |
| 2000 | David Dinkins, former mayor of NYC | Robert Earl Randolph, Jr. (Student) |
| 1999 | Manning Marable, historian and author; Professor, Columbia | Patricia L. Bailey (Director, Disability Services) |
| 1998 | Myrlie Evers-Williams, Chair, NAACP; widow of Medgar Evers | Jeffrey Thigpen (Student) |
| 1997 | Shirley Chisholm, former US Representative | Lenora A. Richardson |
| 1996 | Dr. Michael K. Honey | Deardre R. Johnson (Student) |
| 1995 | Dr. Michael Eric Dyson, Professor of Communications Studies at UNC-CH | Darrell Wheeler |
| 1994 | Dr. George Subira | Patrice N. Vinson (Student) |
| 1993 | Ms. Naomi Tutu | Carolyn Moore |
| 1992 | Dr. James Cone | Daniel T. “J J” McEachern (Student) |
| 1991 | Rev. Tyrone Crider | Odessa Patrick (Biology) |
| 1990 | Mary Berry | William R. McNeely, Jr. (Student) |
| 1989 | Rev. Ralph Abernathy, associate of MLK Jr. and leader of SCLC | Ernestine Small (Nursing) |
| 1988 | John Lewis, Congressman, Georgia | Bradley Mitchell (Student) |
| 1987 | Dick Gregory, comedian and political activist | Joseph Himes (Sociology) |
