The Danforth Campus 38th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemoration will take place on Monday, January 20, 2025, from 2-3:30 p.m. in Graham Chapel. 

The commemoration theme is “Responsibility,” inspired by the quote: “Ultimately individual responsibility lies not in the external situation but in the internal response.” – Martin Luther King, Jr., from his sermon, “Accepting Responsibility for Your Actions” delivered in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 26, 1953.

Harvey Fields, Ph.D., Founding Dean and Assistant Professor of Chemistry, College of STEM at Harris-Stowe State University, will deliver the keynote address.

Additional speakers include Chancellor Andrew D. Martin, Ph.D.; Wilmetta Toliver-Diallo, Ph.D., Senior Assistant Dean of Advising, College of Arts & Sciences and Lecturer in the African and African-American Studies Department; and the Reverend Callista Isabelle, Director for Religious, Spiritual, and Ethical Life.

The program will feature presentations of the “Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Service Award” and the “Rosa L. Parks Award for Meritorious Service to the Community.”

Student performances will showcase Black Anthology, the Unending Praise Gospel Acapella Choir and the Washington University Concert Choir. Hussein Amuri, President of the Student Union (SU), and Spencer Snipe, Vice President of the Association of Black Students (ABS), will serve as co-hosts.

Community Service Project
Join us before the commemoration for a community service project from noon – 2 p.m. in the Danforth University Center (DUC) Tisch Commons. Activities include assembling dental hygiene kits for the Youth and Family Center, care packages for the unhoused, blankets for area animal shelters and cards for local senior citizens.

Both the community service project and commemoration ceremony are free and open to the public.

Donations of canned goods and hygiene items will be gratefully accepted. A reception will follow the commemoration in the DUC Tisch Commons.

For more details, please visit the Danforth Campus Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration website.