Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
In 1980, a graduate student led a successful campaign to begin celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at MSU.
In 1986 Martin Luther King Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday and in 1998, Michigan State University's administration officially canceled the regular class schedule on the national holiday.
Since that time, each year on the third Monday in January, faculty, students, staff and surrounding communities join in the celebration of Dr. King to reflect on his message of civil rights and social justice for all through nonviolent means.
2013 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration
"The Road to Social Justice Begins with One Step"
Exciting plans are underway for the 2013 celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Michigan State University. Every year the events get better and this year our major programs will serve as a precursor to MSU's recognition of two watershed events that occurred ten years apart in 20th century American history. These events continue to impact American citizens today of all races, genders and cultures.
In recognition of the 60th Anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Topeka Board of Education and the 50th Anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (hereafter referred to as the 60/50), the Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorative Celebration will kick off campus-wide programs in January 2014, and end in January 2015--a year long effort that is currently a body of work in progress on a broad university-wide level. You may think it's too early to start planning but it's necessary because we intend to offer the University community a broad spectrum of events that will be of interest to everyone--faculty, students and staff--and this requires thoughtful planning.
This year, the theme was deliberately selected to set the stage for the 60/50 commemorative events. It will be central to each program initiative that takes place. In keeping with our land-grant tradition and core value of inclusion, MSU will explore issues around social justice from domestic and global perspectives. Faculty, students, staff and administrators are working together to bring quality programs to its community citizens that represent over 120 countries around the world.
We encourage everyone to participate and ask that you share this information with others that you know. Please visit this site periodically for program updates. If you have questions that the website doesn't answer, feel free to contact Audrey Bentley, Community Outreach Coordinator or call the Office for Inclusion at 517-353-3922, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.
