Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation 2025

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 
Convocation 2025

"Freedom Intersections"

Thursday, Jan. 16
2 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Macky Auditorium

Featuring keynote speaker Isabel Wilkerson, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author of “Caste” and “The Warmth of Other Suns”

 

Registration is now closed.

Join CU Boulder for a free event open to students, staff, faculty and local community members to commemorate one of the country’s most influential civil rights leaders: the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Acclaimed journalist Isabel Wilkerson will talk about caste systems around the world, how they become empowered, and what it might be like to disrupt them. Wilkerson will also answer questions and sign copies of her books. See the full event program.

Freedom Intersections

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist minister, activist and political philosopher, was one of the most influential and celebrated civil rights leaders in U.S. history. Before his April 4, 1968, murder in Memphis, King became the youngest man to win the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 35. His iconic “I Have a Dream” speech and his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” continue to resonate across multiple generations today.

“Freedom intersections,” the theme of the 2025 convocation, will guide a community exploration of how global power dynamics and solidarity have intersected over the decades to propel current and past freedom movements, including the U.S. civil rights movement.

Participants will also be invited to consider the following excerpt from Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” within the present-day context: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.”

Isabel Wilkerson

Isabel Wilkerson

Isabel Wilkerson (photo by Leslie Andrews)

Isabel Wilkerson is the author of the bestsellers “The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration” and “Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents.” She won a Pulitzer Prize in 1994, becoming the first Black woman to earn the accolade for feature writing and individual reporting.

In 2016, former President Barack Obama awarded Wilkerson the National Humanities Medal for "championing the stories of an unsung history."

“The Warmth of Other Suns” won the National Book Critics Circle Award. More than 30 publications listed the book among its best of the year, including the Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and The New York Times, which also named the book one of the 100 best books of the 21st century. In 2020, Time magazine named “Caste” nonfiction book of the year, and Oprah Winfrey chose it for her book club.

A Howard University alumna, Wilkerson has taught at Princeton, Emory, Boston and other universities across the United States, Europe and Asia. Learn more about the author’s work by visiting the Penguin Random House website.

Registration

Registration is now closed. Walk-up registration will not be available at the event. Please have your confirmation email ready during event check-in. 

Parking

Macky Auditorium is at the intersection of 17th Street and University Avenue on the CU Boulder campus. To chart driving directions, use the address “1595 Pleasant St.”

Paid parking is available at Euclid Parking Garage and Folsom Garage. Accessible parking is available in lot 380, just east of Macky. Parking is limited and we encourage use of public transit and carpools. See the event parking map or the interactive campus map for more options. 

Security

All guests must pass through security screening to enter the event venue. There is a no bag policy for this event. Small purses and clutches that are 4.5”x6.5” or smaller, and bags containing medically necessary equipment, will be permitted after security inspection.  To request accessibility accommodations, please email Rennea Rojo-Martínez Donovan. 

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