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�ճ����campus’s 2026 celebrations of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are scheduled from Thursday, Jan. 15, through Tuesday, Jan. 20, and will include student table talks and an evening keynote.��

This year’s theme—“Imagining Tomorrow: Afro-Futurist Visions of Community, Creativity and Collective Care”—emerges from King’s expansive vision of justice and community interconnectedness. Embracing Afrofuturist frameworks and ancestral rhythms, the convocation will explore creative expressions of justice, community wellness and intergenerational care.

Ibram X. Kendi

The keynote event on Jan. 15 will feature Ibram X. Kendi, a leading anti-racist scholar and historian, and the founding director of the Howard Institute for Advanced Study. He is the author of many highly acclaimed books including“Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America,” which won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, making him the youngest author to win that award. In 2020, Time��magazine named Kendi one of the 100 Most Influential People in the world. He was awarded a 2021 MacArthur Fellowship, popularly known as the Genius Grant. His latest book, “Malcolm Lives!: The Official Biography of Malcolm X for Young Readers,” was an instant New York Times bestseller.

Michele Simpson, a С���� Boulder associate teaching professor and faculty affiliate of the Center for African and African American Studies, will join Kendi for a moderated discussion. Together, they will examine King’s lesser-known writings on economic justice, global solidarity and radical imagination, and connect these concepts to contemporary visions of equitable, sustainable communities.

"Dr. King's writings and teachings continue to resonate with all of us who strive to create a more just, equitable and connected community," said Chancellor Justin Schwartz. "As we celebrate his legacy, I can't imagine a more capable guide through American history than Ibram X. Kendi. I'm thrilled to welcome Dr. Kendi to our campus and hear his perspectives and vision for our collective future."

�ճ����Center for Cultural Connections and Community will be hosting student table talks before and after the keynote event. The first workshop, on��, will introduce students to dialogic principles, including strategies for evaluating how bias and language choice can impact how we engage in crucial conversations. A second talk will follow on��, which will reflect on topics and themes discussed during the keynote. Both talks will be supplemented with guided visualizations inspired by Afrofuturist principles.

David Humphrey, associate vice chancellor for leadership support and programming, said the convocation theme was inspired by sentiments of yearning and dreaming shared by many colleagues across campus.

“Navigating our current historical moment requires a radical imagination, one capable of seeing beyond what��is to envision what��could be.��Social transformation has always depended on the courage to dream past the limits of the present,” said Humphrey.

“This prophetic invitation sits at the heart of Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolent resistance and the Beloved Community. The 2026 convocation invites our campus to imagine boldly, to��re-member honestly and to cultivate a shared vision of what it means to build a more just and flourishing community. In gathering together, we honor both the dreams that carried us here and the collective visioning required to shape what comes next.”

The keynote event is free and open to students, staff, faculty and the public. Guests are encouraged to��register in advance to guarantee their seat.��

For accommodation requests, please email the��convocation planning team.��