KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Talks by leaders and luminaries across culture and public life
Since 1987, the MLK Symposium Keynote Memorial Lecture has featured religious leaders, artists, public servants, and educators, to connect more deeply with King's words and actions.
Positions and titles of the speakers listed below reflect their status at the time of address.
2024
Transforming the Jangling Discords of Our Nation into a Beautiful Symphony
Michelle Alexander
Best-selling Author, Legal Scholar, Social Justice Advocate, and Columnist
Best-selling author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness
With a special musical performance by BLKBOK
2023
(R)EVOLUTION: From Segregation to Elevation
Dr. Aletha Maybank - Physician, Chief Health Equity Officer, and Senior Vice President of the American Medical Association
Edward Buckles - First-Time Director and Best New Documentary Director Winner of The Albert Maysies Award for the documentary, Katrina Babies
Jalen Rose - Founder and President of the Board of Directors for the Jalen Rose Leadership Academy, ABC/ESPN Analyst, Former U-M and NBA Basketball Star, Civil and Human Rights Awardee, Philanthropist, and Author
2022
This is America
Presented virtually
Dr. Rashad Richey - University Professor, Lecturer, Emmy nominated Broadcaster and Political/Social Analyst
Maria Hinojosa - Mexican-American Journalist, Anchor and Executive Producer Civil and Human Rights Awardee, Philanthropist, and Author
2021
Where Do We Go From Here
Presented virtually
Dr. Gloria House, Poet, Essayist, Educator, and Human Rights and Community Activist
Malik Yakini, Educator, Farmer, Food Justice Advocate and Guitarist
2020
the (mis)education of US
Angela Davis, Political Activist, Author, and Professor
2019
Unravel
Tim Wise - Author and Scholar
Julia Putnam - Detroit Principal and Writer
2018
The Fierce Urgency of Now
Hill Harper - Actor, Author, Philanthropist
2017
Sounds of Change
Amy Goodman - Journalist, Activist, Author
Issa Rae - Actress, Comedian, Writer, Director, Producer
2016
#WhoWillBeNext
2015
Unity Not Uniformity
Marc Lamont Hill - Journalist, Scholar, Author and Activist
2014
Power, Justice, and Love Heal the Divide
Harry Belafonte - Singer, Songwriter, Actor and Social Activist
2013
50 Years Later: Revolution of the Dream
Morris Dees - Civil Rights Activist and Founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center
2012
Building On The Past To A New Generation Of Activism
Michelle Norris - Author and Award-winning Journalist
2011
We The People…Realizing The Dream?
Shirley Sherrod - Civil rights activist and former Georgia rural state director for the United States Department of Agriculture
2010
I Am, Was, and Always Will Be A Catalyst For Change
Gwen Ifill - Moderator & Managing Editor of PBS’s “Washington Week” & Co-anchor for the “PBS Newshour”
2009
A Dreamer, But Not the Only One
Julian Bond - Former Chairman of the NAACP
2008
Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere
Louis Gossett Jr. - Academy Award-winning Actor, Founder of the Eracism Foundation
2007
Building the Beloved Community
Kweisi Mfume - Executive Director, NAACP
2006
A Time to Break Silence
Anna Deavere Smith - Professor, Playwright, Actress
2005
…But We Have Not Learned the Simple Art of Living Together...
Henry G. Cisneros - Former Secretary – US Dept. of Housing & Urban Development
2004
Still Separate? Still Unequal? Brown Versus Board of Education Fifty Years Later
Lani Guinier - Harvard Law Professor and Author
2003
We Must Be the Change We Wish to See in The World
Grace Lee Boggs - Detroit Activist and Author
2002
Honoring, Challenging, and Living
Dr. Benjamin Carson - Neurosurgeon and Medical School Alumnus
2001
Commitment + Renewal
Edward James Olmos - Actor and Humanitarian
2000
MLK 2K: Shattering Barriers Transcending Borders
Henry Louis Gates Jr. - Director of African American Studies, Harvard University
1999
On the Verge of a New Millennium…Stand!
Nikki Giovanni - Poet, Author and Essayist
1998
Why We Can't Wait
Cornel West - Professor of African American Studies and Religion, Harvard University
1997
Campaign for a Unified Community of Justice
Mary Frances Berry - Chairperson of the US Commission on Civil Rights
1996
Affirmation Through Action: The Challenge Continues
Jocelyn Elders - US Surgeon General
1995
Conflict and Communities: The Struggle for Racial Justice
Benjamin Hooks - Executive Director of the NAACP
1994
"American Culture" or "American -- the Multicultural?" The Challenge of the 21st Century
Charles Long - Director for Black Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara
1993
From Indifference and Inequality to justice and Reconciliation
Rep. Shirley Chisholm of New York
1992
The Path to Empowerment: Redefining Our Cultures
Maulana Karenga - Director of Black Studies, California State University, Long Beach
1991
King
Adelaide Sanford - Regent, State University of New York
1990
King's Legacy: Our Unfinished Agenda
Cesar Chavez - President, United Farm Workers Union & Kevin Locke, Traditional Native American Dancer and Musician, Lakota Nation
1989
Enlightenment, Empowerment and Equity: A Challenge of the King Legacy
Mayor Willie Brown Jr. of San Francisco
1988
Gov. Douglas Wilder of Virginia
1987
Rep. William Gray III of Pennsylvania