MLK Day

U-M Library, along with the Rackham School of Graduate Studies, School of Information, Michigan Housing, and the Bentley Historical Library have sponsored an outstanding program for Martin Luther King Jr. Day from 1989 to the present.

Join us in person or virtually on January 20, 2025 for a talk by Ilyasah Shabazz on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

This event is part of U-M’s annual Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium, one of the largest academic celebrations of the leader’s life and legacy in the nation.

Ideas for future programs are welcomed by the MLK Committee at libmlkday@umich.edu.

Past speakers

In 1989, Gwendolyn Brooks, the prominent and prolific poet and novelist, was the library’s first speaker in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Her presence led the way for a strong annual program of presentations.

2020-present

2024 - Feminista Jones
2023 - Fania E. Davis
2022 - Steve Pemberton
2021 - Mary Frances Berry
2020 - Cheryl Brown Henderson

2010-2019

2019 - Michael Eric Dyson
2018 - Karine Jean-Pierre
2017 - Fanshen Cox DiGiovanni
2016 - Alicia Garza
2015 - Stephen Henderson
2014 - Michigan's Story: The History of Race at U-M (exhibit)
2013 - Angela Davis
2012 - Step Afrika!
2011 - Bertice Berry
2010 - Sapphire

2000-2009

2009 - Larry Wilmore
2008 - Valarie Kaur
2007 - Helen Zia
2006 - Keith Beauchamp
2005 - Juan R. I. Cole
2004 - Christopher Edley Jr.
2003 - bell hooks
2002 - Sherman Alexie
2001 - Carmen Tafolla
2000 - Earl Ofari Hutchinson

1989-1999

1999 - Cast performance of the play "Camp Logan" by Celeste Bedford Walker
1998 - Patricia Gaines
1997 - Farai Chideya
1996 - Bobby Seale
1995 - bell hooks
1994 - Mary Frances Berry
1993 - Gloria Naylor
1992 - Alex Haley
1991 - Claude Brown
1990 - Haki R. Madhubuti
1989 - Gwendolyn Brooks