Every year, the Department of African American Studies commemorates Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday with a keynote address. During these unprecedent times of impenetrable uncertainties, the department has invited the Emory community to contribute in our celebration of Dr. King's legacy. The community has drawn from Dr. King's speeches and writings, as well as other works honoring him. Our selections examine themes in society, race, education, love, and hope as we reflect on the work he has done and the work that is still left for us to do.   

Featuring

Gregory L. Fenves, President, Emory University

Reciting from “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence”
Delivered April 4, 1967, Riverside Church, New York, NY

Tracy L. Scott, Senior Lecturer, Sociology 

Reciting "Where Do We Go from Here?"
Delivered August 16, 1967, at the 11th Annual SCLS (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) Convention Atlanta, GA

Kali N. Gross, Professor, African American Studies 

Reciting from the Eulogy for the Martyred Children of the 16th Street Baptist Church
Delivered September 18, 1963, Birmingham, AL

Susan E. Perlman, Senior Research Administration Coordinator, Psychology 

Reciting a quote from the Address at the 4th Annual Institute on Nonviolence and Social Change
Delievered December 3, 1959, Bethel Baptist Church, Montgomery, AL

Valerie Babb, Andrew Mellon Professor of Humanities, African American Studies and English

Rachel Wrenn, Ph.D. Candidate, Religion 

Reciting from “I Have a Dream”
Delivered August 28, 1963, Washington, D.C

Kristin Wendland, Professor of Pedagogy, Music 

Reciting a quote from Strength to Love (1963)

Meina Yates Richard, Assistant Professor, African American Studies and English 

Reciting from Where do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community (1967)

Falguni Sheth, Associate Professor, Women, Gender & Sexuality Studies 

Reciting from “Casualties of War in Vietnam”
Delivered February 25, 1967, at the Nation Institute, Los Angeles, CA

Kenneth Rozier, 3rd Year M.Div. Student, Candler School of Theology 

Reciting from “The Three Dimensions of a Complete Life”
Delivered April 9, 1967, at New Covenant Baptist Church, Chicago, IL

Ellen Idler, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor, Sociology 

Reciting from “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
Written on April 16, 1963, Birmingham, AL

Niara Foster, Major, African American Studies 

Reciting from Toni Morrison’s “Tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.”
Published in The Source of Self-Regard: Selected Essays, Speeches, and Meditations (2019)

Tim Dowd, Professor and Chair, Sociology 

Reciting from “The World House”
Published in Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? (1967)

Vanessa Siddle Walker, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor, African American and Educational Studies 

Reading from her book, The Lost Education of Horace Tate (2018), referencing King’s speech delivered in April 1967 to the Georgia Teachers and Education Association, Atlanta, GA

Michelle Gordon, Senior Lecturer, African American Studies 

Reading from Why We Can't Wait (1963)

Carol Anderson, Charles Howard Candler Professor and Chair, African American Studies 

Reciting from “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence”
Delivered April 4, 1967, Riverside Church, New York, NY