UNCG and N.C. A&T to host 5th annual joint Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration

Greensboro, N.C. (Jan. 11, 2017) – The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (N.C. A&T) are partnering to host the 5th annual joint Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Wednesday, Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. at UNCG Auditorium.

This year’s program features a keynote address by DeRay Mckesson, an educator, civil rights activist and leading voice in the Black Lives Matter movement. The event is free and open to the public, and doors open at 6:15 p.m. 

“We’re pleased to once again partner with N.C. A&T to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” said UNCG Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. “We look forward to welcoming DeRay Mckesson to our campus as we remember Dr. King and continue to work toward a more equal and just society for all.”

“Dr. King’s legacy of peace, justice and equality serves as an inspiration to people of all races and cultures around the world,” said N.C. A&T Chancellor Harold L. Martin Sr. “Our continued collaboration with UNCG to promote his vision and courage is critical to the engagement and development of our students as global citizens.”

The celebration will include artistic performances by students, a presentation of N.C. A&T’s MLK Scholarship Award and the inaugural MLK Arts Contest awards presentation. A meet-and-greet with Mckesson will follow the program.

In addition to the evening program, two daytime events held on N.C. A&T’s campus will be open to the public. Mckesson will speak on self-care and activism at 10 a.m. in the Hayes-Taylor YMCA Multipurpose Room. At 2 p.m., Mckesson and campus and community leaders will participate in a panel discussion on activism and civil disobedience in the Dudley Multipurpose Room.

In 2015, Mckesson was named one of the World’s Greatest Leaders by Fortune magazine. Last year, Time magazine recognized him in its list of the 30 Most Influential People on the Internet. Mckesson is currently the interim chief human capital officer for Baltimore City Public Schools and a fellow at the University of Chicago Institute of Politics. He is a 2007 graduate of Bowdoin College and received an honorary doctorate from The New School in New York City in 2016.

For more information about the celebration and other Martin Luther King Jr. Day events, visit intercultural.uncg.edu and the N.C. A&T Multicultural Center.