Calendar of Events

Courageous Leadership and an Unwavering Commitment to Civil Rights, Equity, and Social Justice

A variety of exciting and educational opportunities will be offered to the MSU Community in celebration of the legacy of Dr. King and historical events that took place in our nation and on our campus. 

MLK questions can be directed to Audrey Bentley at 517-353-4563.

Media contact: Henry Mochida

graphic of MLK with the theme for 2024

Add your event for 2024

ADD YOUR EVENT: If your unit or department is planning an event for this year's celebration, please complete this form to be added to the compiled list of activities for this year. Details about events should be submitted as soon as possible in order to be included in event promotion. 

 

2024 Events are below

The events line up for the 2024 Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration are below! 

 

Events Happening All Week

  • Stuff the Library Book Drive

    An inclusive campaign designed to fill a designated school districts libraries with books on topics of social justice and with characters representing diverse backgrounds.  Books can be donated through the giving of a financial donation, direct purchase from a curated wish list, or by dropping them off in person.

    Thank you to our District Partner: Grand Rapids Public Schools

    You can be involved in several ways:

    SHOP 

    • Amazon Wishlist and mail books to the donation collection point address saved under MSU MLK Committee with the Amazon Wishlist. Books will be dispersed to local schools and organizations.
    • Or shop a Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) owned bookstore or local book store like bookshop.org, liberationstationbookstore.com/, or locally owned Black book store, Socialite Society, located in the Lansing Mall. The Amazon list can still be referenced, or you can choose a book of your liking that fits the theme! 

    DROP

    • In the mail – from BIPOC or local bookstores to: 
      WorkLife Office, C/O MLK Stuff Library, 479 West Circle Drive Linton Hall, Suite 116, East Lansing, MI 48824 
    • In person – new books you wish to donate at the MSU WorkLife Office. Contact Dan DiMaggio (dimaggi2@msu.edu) with any questions.

    DONATE 

Friday, January 12

  • 2024 MLK Student Leadership Conference

    STUDENT EVENT – FREE | MSU Union Building | 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. | Registration Required - Registration will start at 9:00 a.m.

    Please join the 2024 MLK Student Committee within the 2024 MLK Commemorative Committee for the annual MLK Student Leadership Conference. The conference will feature presentations, entertainment, keynote speakers, and lunch.

    Registration for the conference is at no cost to MSU students; however, you must register for the conference no later than Thursday, Jan. 11th, 2024. A MLK Student Leadership Conference packet will be provided to all registered participants while supplies last and will include a conference t-shirt. The Conference will also include an informational and student organizational resource fair.

    The Keynote speakers for this year's conference will feature Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt. They will share their stories of personal struggles and triumphs as they sought to pursue their goals and dreams amid challenging social injustice forces. They will share their story of empowering your life through determination, commitment, and perseverance. All of them have not only achieve their goal of becoming doctors, but have, like Dr. King, given back to their communities through advocacy for social justice and change within the medical and educational communities. They are passionate about advancing educational and health care equity everyone.

    Learn more about the 2024 MLK Student Leadership Conference and register.

    For more information on this event please contact the 2024 MLK Commemorative Student Committee Co-Chairs Brandon Foster foste324@msu.edu and Jakaira Lynn lynnjaka@msu.edu 

  • Emerging Visions "Sam x Elijah: Making Space x Taking Space" Exhibition Opening Reception

    Postponed 

    Due to the Winter Storm Warning for Friday, January 12th, this event will be rescheduled for a future date in February. 

    FREE | 5:50 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. | Learn More

    This dynamic art exhibition of up-and-coming artists puts the work of Sam Modder and Elijah Hamilton-Wray in direct conversation as they contemplate the Black portrait and Black form through space, place and time. The opening reception will feature a meet and greet with the artists, food and music. This event provides a unique opportunity for the public to enjoy artworks and interact with contemporary artists from the African diaspora. 

    For more information contact:  Tama Hamilton-Wray | hamil136@msu.edu

Saturday, Jan. 13

  • Weekend Wellness A Dreamer’s Mindset: Healthy Strategies for Achieving Wellness and Building Community Event

    FREE | IM Sports East | 8 p.m. - midnight

    In recognition of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his legacy of living with intention, the 2024 MLK Commemorative Student Committee within the 2024 MLK Commemorative Committee and Recreational Sports and Fitness will host a Health and Wellness Fair and the “Spartan Glow and Flow” skating event. The event will promote campus-wide wellness and healthy goal setting grounded in an unwavering commitment to perseverance and building community.

    Event will be held from 8 p.m.-midnight (EDT), Saturday, Jan. 13, 2024, in the IM Sports East. Doors will open at 7p.m. (EDT).

    The event will feature Wellness activity stations along with a pop-up roller skating rink. Skates will be provided free of charge to all participants.

    Event will also feature an informational Health and Wellness Fair and workshops on being proactive with your health and wellness for the semester.

    Give-aways and food will be provided.

    All participants will receive a “A Dreamer’s Mindset” t-shirt while supplies last.

    If you have any questions regarding the event, please contact the 2024 Graduate Student MLK Student Commemorative Committee Chair, Jakaira Lynn via email at lynnjaka@msu.edu.

    Proudly hosted and sponsored by RHA(Residence Hall Association), UAB(University Activities Board), Recreational Sports and Fitness, and the Department of Student Development and Leadership.

  • 2024 MLK Historical Landmark Virtual Student Engagement Event

    FREE | 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. | Virtual/In-person | Register to view from home, or attend at the Clara Bell Smith Center

    Please join the 2024 MLK Student Committee within the 2024 MLK Commemorative Committee in collaboration with Morehouse College students for an engaging virtual viewing of historical MLK landmarks in the city of Atlanta.

    Join the webinar via this link. Passcode: MLKTOUR

    The event can be viewed virtually from home via Zoom. Register for this option. Zoom link information will be sent upon registration. Or attend the event in-person at the Clara Bell Smith Center (lunch and door prizes will be provided).

Sunday, Jan. 14 

  • 2024 MLK Holiday Ecumenical Service

    FREE | MSU Chapel | 1:30 - 3 p.m. 

    Please join us for a Ecumenical Service in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. The event will be jointly hosted by numerous student faith-based organizations and will feature a variety of artistic faith-based performances. The event will feature the Michigan State University Gospel Choir.

    Soul Food tasting reception will follow immediately at the conclusion of the Ecumenical Service.

    For more information on this event please contact the 2024 MLK Commemorative Student Committee Co-Chairs Brandon Foster foste324@msu.edu and Jakaira Lynn lynnjaka@msu.edu 

  • “Jazz: Spirituals, Prayer, and Protest” Concert

    Fairchild Theatre| 3 p.m. | Registration Required  (SOLD OUT)

    Featuring vocalists: Ashton N. Moore and Sister Strings, featuring Naima Schamberger

    Hosted by: Jazz Studies Program

Monday, Jan. 15

  • 2024 MLK Commemorative March

    FREE | at IM East Building | 9 a.m.

    Due to inclement weather, the annual 2024 MLK Commemorative March will be held indoors at IM East Building (804 East Shaw Lane) on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. The building will open at 8:30 a.m., with the speaking program starting at 9 a.m. 

    The March is collaboratively hosted by the MSU Zeta Delta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and the 2024 MLK Student Committee within the 2024 MLK Commemorative Committee. All organizations are invited to participate in the March. If your organization would like to participate in the March, please complete the March registration form.

    Individual March participants do not have to register.

    For more information on this event please contact the 2024 MLK Commemorative Student Committee Co-Chairs Brandon Foster foste324@msu.edu and Jakaira Lynn lynnjaka@msu.edu.

  • Community Service Opportunities

    Click here for more information

    “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: ‘What are you doing for others?’”

    (Quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

    Hosted by: Center for Community Engaged Learning

Tuesday, Jan. 16 

  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Unity Dinner

    FREE | Kellogg Center, Big 10 Rooms | 5:30 – 7 p.m. (doors open at 4:30 p.m.) | Registration Required

    On Tuesday, Jan. 16, the 20th annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Unity Dinner will take place at the Kellogg Center Hotel & Conference Center.

    Community was extremely important to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. During his short lifetime of 39 years, he came to understand and appreciate the interrelatedness of all humanity. Dr. King would repeatedly say in speeches and writings that, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are all caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly."

    Along with a wonderful dinner and the inspiring keynote speaker, Dr. Blaire Morseau (Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians) assistant professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Michigan State University, the event will also feature remarks from MSU’s Interim President Dr. Teresa Woodruff and MSU’s Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Dr. Jabbar Bennett, and several artistic performances.

    This is a free event, and pre-registration is required here. Seating is limited. Everyone who makes reservations should receive an email with tickets to the event.

    To enter the dinner, please bring your printed tickets, or eTickets on your phone. Staff will scan you in near the entrance of the Big 10 Rooms at the Kellogg Center. Coat racks will be available in the Centennial Room, located directly across the hall from the Big 10 Rooms.

  • Movie Talk Night: The Pact

    MLK COMMEMORATIVE CELEBRATION 2024

    Please join us for “MOVIE TALK NIGHT” during our MLK Commemorative Week.

    We will be discussing the movie “The Pact”

    JANUARY 16, VIRTUAL & KELLOGG CENTER AUDITORIUM, 7 - 9 PM (EST)

    To join the event virtually use this Zoom link:

    https://msu.zoom.us/j/97226927322, Meeting ID: 972 2692 7322, Passcode: comc

Wednesday, Jan. 17 

  • Movie Talk Night: The Banker

    MLK COMMEMORATIVE CELEBRATION 2024

    MOVIE TALK NIGHT featuring a discussion on the movie "The Banker"

    Participants are encouraged to watch the movie "The Banker" prior to the event to allow for a more robust discussion of the movie.

    JANUARY 17, VIRTUAL ONLY, 7 - 9 PM (EST)

    To join the event virtually use this Zoom link:
    https://msu.zoom.us/j/97226927322, Meeting ID: 972 2692 7322, Passcode: comc

Thursday, Jan. 18

  • Toward Freedom Film Series: The Cost of Inheritance Film Screening with Q&A

    FREE | 7  p.m. | Registration Required

    Join the conversation: at a screening of The Cost of Inheritance. An America ReFramed Special, the hour-long documentary explores the complex issue of reparations in the United States using a thoughtful approach to history, historical injustices, systemic inequities, and the critical dialogue on racial conciliation. Through personal narratives, community inquiries, and scholarly insights, it aims to inspire understanding of the scope and rationale of the reparations debate.

    To learn more, please visit WKAR:

    The Cost of Inheritance | Film Screening with Q&A | WKAR Public Media

     

  • Revisiting the Beloved Community: Health Colleges' Supporting our most vulnerable as we work for Health Equity

    FREE | 6  p.m. | Conrad Auditorium | Registration Required

    In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the MSU Health Colleges invite you to a talk with
    Dr. Anthony Jack. He will discuss how class divides on campus create barriers to
    academic success and what schools can do to level the playing field.


    Dr. Jack is an associate professor of higher education leadership at Boston University
    and the faculty director of BU's Newbury Center. His work focuses on increasing
    understanding and equity for first-generation students on campus. He is the author of
    the highly acclaimed book, "The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges are Failing
    Disadvantaged Students."

    Jointly sponsored by the College of Human Medicine, College of Nursing, College of Osteopathic Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine and Office of Executive Vice President for Health Sciences

  • 2024 Springticipation and MLK Cultural Showcase @ Springticipation

    FREE | 6 – 9 p.m. | STEM Teaching and Learning Facility

    Please join the 2024 MLK Student Committee within the 2024 MLK Commemorative Week Student Committee in collaboration with the Office of Spartan Experiences during their annual Springticipation event.

    Springticipation will feature a social justice themed arts and cultural performance during the event. Event will be hosted at the STEM building from 6 to 9 p.m.

    The event will also feature the annual Springticipation Student Involvement Engagement Fair as well as the Springticipation Cultural Showcase.

    Please use the following link if you'd like to be a performer for the Cultural Engagement Showcase.

    For more information on programs and services within the Office of Spartan Experiences, one of our event hosts, please click the following link: https://spartanexperiences.msu.edu/

    For more information on this event please contact the 2024 MLK Commemorative Student Committee Co-Chairs Brandon Foster foste324@msu.edu and Jakaira Lynn lynnjaka@msu.edu 

Friday, Jan. 19 

  • 7th Annual Diversity Research Showcase

    FREE | MSU Union & Virtual | 1 – 5 p.m. | Registration Required

    With support from the Honors College, Undergraduate Research, the Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion, MSU Libraries, the College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, the College of Arts & Letters, the Broad College of Business, the College of Natural Science, the College of Social Science, and Student Life & Engagement, the 7th Annual Diversity Research Showcase (DRS) will take place on Friday, January 19, 2024, from 1:00-5:00PM ET. Join us for the virtual and in-person showcase featuring MSU undergraduate student research on issues of diversity that advance inclusion.

    Learn more about the Showcase and register here.

  • 2024 MLK Historical Landmark Virtual Student Engagement Exchange Event

    FREE |  Virtual | 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. 

    Please join the 2024 MLK Student Committee within the 2024 MLK Commemorative Committee in collaboration with Morehouse College students for an engaging virtual viewing of historical MLK landmarks in the city of Atlanta.

    Join the webinar via this link. Meeting ID: 924 1249 7936, Passcode: MLKTOUR

    The event can be viewed virtually from via Zoom. Register for this option. Zoom link information will be sent upon registration, or  attend the event in-person at the Clara Bell Smith Center (lunch and door prizes will be provided).

    For more information on this event please contact the 2024 MLK Commemorative Student Committee Co-Chairs Brandon Foster foste324@msu.edu and Jakaira Lynn lynnjaka@msu.edu 

  • Toward Freedom Film Series: We Are the Radical Monarchs

    FREE | 3 - 5 p.m.| MSU Library | Registration Required

    We Are the Radical Monarchs

    The MSU Libraries will host a showing of We Are the Radical Monarchs with a panel with Dr. Tamara Butler at the Main Library in the 4th Floor Green Room from 3-5pm

    Paneleists: Tamara Butler

    Guest: Erik Ponder, Native American and Indigenous Studies subject specialist

    ponderer@msu.edu

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Celebration